A friend of mine used to work in operations for Luxottica. IIRC after digging for some numbers - at least half of their eyewear sales come from Rayban and cost price sits at arond $9.
A Closer Look at the $13B Premium Eyewear Market
91–100 of 138 posts
Re: A Closer Look at the $13B Premium Eyewear Market
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
In France, this industry is nothing short of fascinating, it's just an enormous bubble, almost entirely financed by the public sector, it's a market that is so broken it's almost hilarious. You basically have the glass covered by the government, as well as very basic frames, that you will typically not consider, since your company insurance policy probably comes with a plan covering frames. As a customer, you don't r…
All true. Also, since the glasses are better covered than the frames, vendors routinely offer to move the cost for the frames onto the glasses, so for example if you want a frame that costs €300 (!) but your insurance covers up to €200 for frames then they will charge €200 for the frame and an extra €50 for each glass. This is completely illegal but every shop does it (suggests it without prompting from customers). I…
Oh dear. That sounds sickening. (I'm due for a new pair of glasses and I'm in Western Europe).
Recently, I happened to visit a store to look for a new pair of frames (& glasses). The frames were so insanely expensive I had to ask the guy: "Why are they so expensive?". The guy's short reply was: "It's the brand". When I pressed further to explain, he couldn't say anything meaningful.
Moreover, the quality of these "branded" glasses from my tactile inspection felt subpar (as in, I was wondering: "will they even last a couple of years?").
/me is still on the look out for a reliable way to find something reasonable without shelling out an arm and a leg. (Don't mind paying for good quality.)
Re: A Closer Look at the $13B Premium Eyewear Market
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
The lack of good designs for non-Luxottica brand frames is appalling. I use a third party eye glass company to order frames + lenses for < $100 and get good quality stuff (but not the best styles). Why are they not able to compete on style and fashion?
Luxottica offered to buy Oakley, and Oakley refused.. said it was never going to happen. So Luxottica stopped distributing Oakley's products in Sunglass Hut, etc.. which deprived Oakley of the majority of it's revenue, causing their stock to crash. Oakley then accepted a buyout offer from Luxottica. So to answer your question, why are there not better Luxottica competitors.. because when someone produces a good produ…
They don't own Warby Parker. I bought two pairs of progressive lens glasses from them. Great experience.
Re: A Closer Look at the $13B Premium Eyewear Market
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
The lack of good designs for non-Luxottica brand frames is appalling. I use a third party eye glass company to order frames + lenses for < $100 and get good quality stuff (but not the best styles). Why are they not able to compete on style and fashion?
Luxottica offered to buy Oakley, and Oakley refused.. said it was never going to happen. So Luxottica stopped distributing Oakley's products in Sunglass Hut, etc.. which deprived Oakley of the majority of it's revenue, causing their stock to crash. Oakley then accepted a buyout offer from Luxottica. So to answer your question, why are there not better Luxottica competitors.. because when someone produces a good produ…
That kind of behaviour really should bring the anti-trust regulators knocking on your door sharpish. Anyone know why it didn't happen?
Re: A Closer Look at the $13B Premium Eyewear Market
#95The reason glasses cost so much is because one company owns: (1) nearly all brand name frames including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Prada eyewear, Armani eyewear and so on, (2) nearly all retail stores such as LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical and Target Optical and (3) EyeMed, one of the largest vision insurance companies. Luxottica retail brands: http://www.luxottica.com/en/retail-brands Luxottica eyewear brands: htt…
Yes this is all true, but the real reason glasses cost so much is because people buy vision, not glasses. And people value vision extremely high. I started a glasses company and when I'd tell people their $900 glasses cost the eye doctor less than $100, they would give me this blank stare like "so what? I can see."
Re: A Closer Look at the $13B Premium Eyewear Market
#96The reason glasses cost so much is because one company owns: (1) nearly all brand name frames including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Prada eyewear, Armani eyewear and so on, (2) nearly all retail stores such as LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical and Target Optical and (3) EyeMed, one of the largest vision insurance companies. Luxottica retail brands: http://www.luxottica.com/en/retail-brands Luxottica eyewear brands: htt…
I see an independent ophthalmologist. He stocks both Luxottica and non-Luxottica frames. Every time, they and I blindly select frames with a bias against Luxottica. Every time, I choose the Luxottica frame. Somehow, that company has cornered the market for decently-built frames for non-hipsters.
Why do you see an ophthalmologist and not an optometrist?
Re: A Closer Look at the $13B Premium Eyewear Market
#97Europeans seem to wear glasses at a much higher rate than Americans. Is there is structural reason for the preference of glasses over contacts?
There are/were many government and company plans that cover the cost of glasses, and hardly any that cover contacts.
Re: A Closer Look at the $13B Premium Eyewear Market
#98I'm interested in making frames for a niche market. And then we can grow to become mainstream. If you're a skilled frames designer, send me a PM, I can finance the project and "handle the business side" (serious).
check out my company frameri.com and if you like what you see, message us on intercom. we designed everything ourselves
Re: A Closer Look at the $13B Premium Eyewear Market
#99Europeans seem to wear glasses at a much higher rate than Americans. Is there is structural reason for the preference of glasses over contacts?
Seems that most frame design comes from European, so it probably has alot to do with pride.
Re: A Closer Look at the $13B Premium Eyewear Market
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
Luxottica offered to buy Oakley, and Oakley refused.. said it was never going to happen. So Luxottica stopped distributing Oakley's products in Sunglass Hut, etc.. which deprived Oakley of the majority of it's revenue, causing their stock to crash. Oakley then accepted a buyout offer from Luxottica. So to answer your question, why are there not better Luxottica competitors.. because when someone produces a good produ…
That kind of behaviour really should bring the anti-trust regulators knocking on your door sharpish. Anyone know why it didn't happen?
Because the US has not believed in anti-trust regulations in some time, especially for snakes who don't hesitate to pay (I don't remember if it was Last Week Tonight or Adam Ruins Everything which played clips of the Luxotica CEO, that bloke talks and behaves exactly as if he'd order a pallet of cement blocks and ask for a discount).