EssilorLuxottica, guided by CEO Francesco Milleri, recently achieved a €100bn valuation, which was the goal of its late founder Leonardo Del Vecchio. In the vast history of the company, this represents a key chapter of a story that started from a small workshop in 1961 in Agordo, Italy. After a €50bn fusion with the renowned French lens-maker Essilor in 2018, the company now focuses on the development of AI-powered eyewear, announcing in advance that the partnership with Meta will drive future growth since according to their views, smart glasses will evolve to replace smartphones.
Their Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, through Meta’s AI assistant, give the possibility to users to live stream on social media, take photos, and get accessto real-time information. Luxottica’s initial steps in the tech-enhanced eyewear market were not optimal due to the bulkiness and limited appeal. Still, today, EssilorLuxottica controls its luxury licenses to create perfectly integrated, trendy glasses that meet the consumer’s daily needs. Sold at over €300, these glasses have become extremely popular in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, contributing significantly to EssilorLuxottica’s 3.2% growth in B2C sales in the third quartile.
EssilorLuxottica is also expanding its focus on “health.” The company has recently acquired an 80% stake in Heidelberg Engineering and again invested in Nikon and Nuance Hearing aiming to integrate health monitoring processes, eye trackers, and acoustic technology into its eyewear. On top of that, EssilorLuxottica decided to diversify by buying the well-known streetwear brand Supreme for €1.5bn in July, looking forward to targeting a younger audience and enlarging its product offerings beyond eyewear.
In the last period, the partnership with Meta continues to extend, now including also a long-term agreement with the goal of developing the next-generation smart eyewear. Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, states that the collaboration might make them the new “Samsung of Europe”. As a demonstration of its commitment, Meta is considering a 5% stake in EssilorLuxottica.
A potential obstacle might be the remaining concerns about privacy, most of all in markets with extremely rigid regulations, such as the EU and China. Nonetheless, EssilorLuxottica continues to follow its goal of becoming the leader in the market of AI-enabled wearable technology that mixes innovation and everyday usefulness. Milleri emphasized that, unlike other wearable devices, glasses have much more natural scalability since they already have an established role in people’s lives, whether they are sunglasses or corrective glasses.
EssilorLuxottica recently expressed its complete support for Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, Del Vecchio’s son, amid a Milanese inquiry for alleged private data trafficking. While the investigation does not implicate the company, EssilorLuxottica restated its commitment to its founder’s vision, now prospering in a period in which glasses could change the way they are perceived and serve as key devices for AI and cloud computing, further inserting themselves into modern lifestyles.