Unless you don’t watch TV or read magazines, you’ve probably noticed the increased advertising dollars LensCrafters has been spending since last April on their new “fashion forward” branding effort. In addition to the advertising blitz, LensCrafters has ditched the red and blue clock logo, completely redesigned its website, and remodeled its 900 stores, transforming them into hipper, premium neighborhood-style shops. LC also made in-roads into the fashion world as the first optical retailer to have major presence in New York’s fashion week, their partnership with Heidi Klum, and sponsorship of Fashion Rocks.
To grow the high-end market, Luxottica is launching Ilori this year, an exclusive line of luxury sunwear boutiques. Luxottica expects to have 10 Ilori stores by the end of the year, beginning with SoHo and Beverly Hills locations, and then another 150 in the next two years, with each expecting to gross more than $1 million in annual sales.
One possible upside from all this for independent retailers is the impact the mass media push on eyewear as a fashion accessory is likely to have on sales of higher-end frames and multiple pairs.
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5 Responses to “Luxottica’s Big Retail Push”
This push by Lux is *the* best thing that has ever happened to eyewear. IMHO, if you don’t see how good the future can be with these beginning efforts…well….you’re thinking smacks of “last millenium.”
Barry
You’re right, Barry. This certainly creates opportunity for independent retailers. The way I see it, Luxottica is trying to create (or at least grow) a brand new market here by bringing what has traditionaly been the domain of the affluent and trend-setters, into the mainstream. However, the questions that remain for indepenent retailers are how to best take advantage of the opportunity and, for those in direct competition with LC, how to maintain differentiation.
When, if, or ever-do you think Luxotticca will turn its attention towards the lab business? Thoughts on this!
we can now say TODAY (7/4/08) that Luxottica has FAILED. 1st quarter sales are down and every store I go into are filled poorly trained,poorly motivated CLERKS. There are no REAL opticians(licensed or not) in Lenscrafters and all their “brands.” The old days of DELIVERING LEGENDARY SERVICE went down the tubes. Andrea Guerra and especialy Kerry Bradley should be fired
Luxottica is all about selling, making money, selling, and upselling. And more selling. Never mind helping customers find what they really need.
This millennium needs to start with businesses realizing that what people need is good value, exceptional value, especially with a near-depression going on.
As far as value and conscientiousness, Luxottica isn’t even on the same planet as a right-sized company like L.L. Bean. Luxottica is too big to even be able to care about its customers.
A bunch of dinosaur-sized mega-corporations are sucking the lifeblood out of planet earth, meaning that they’re ultimately destroying their own source of nutrition. There are two factors behind this – the law, which requires corporations to act as selfishly as they can get away with, and the horribly destructive kinds of incentives executives now receive.
These aren’t the kinds of companies that give employees any genuine sense of worthwhile work or purpose.