Fitting Shades for Chinese
Italian eyewear giant Luxottica is trying to make its shades cool in China. To do that, the maker of sunglasses bearing such brands as Ray-Ban, Ralph Lauren and Prada has recently started making glasses in China specifically tailored for the Chinese. Part of their strategy is making technical tweaks to better suit Asian facial characteristics, such as a lower nose saddle, where glasses rest on the face, and prominent cheekbones.
Three of Luxottica’s own brands—Ray-Ban, Oakley and Vogue—have already rolled out special Asian collections. In the coming months, Luxottica will repeat the tack with three brands it produces under license to some of the world’s most influential fashion brands: Prada, Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana. “We need to really become domestic in these markets,” Luxottica Chief Executive Andrea Guerra said in Luxottica’s Milan headquarters. “We are in the process of understanding that in the world there are a number of diversities.”
Luxottica is the world-wide leader in making and selling glasses. Last year it generated €5.8 billion ($8.32 billion) in sales through such retail chains as LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut, and the brands it manufactures. Ray-Ban is its largest, generating more than €2 billion in retail sales—a figure Luxottica expects to rise to €3 billion by 2013 with a boost from China. Yet China—the source of much of fashion’s growth— makes up only a small portion of Luxottica’s sales. With €75 million in sales last year, China doesn’t rank in Luxottica’s top 10 countries. Yet China is already the seventh-largest market for luxury-goods by sales, according to Bain & Co.