An Italian company with its global head office in Milan, Luxottica manufactures, markets and distributes a collection of luxury frames and sunglasses. In Australia this includes three optical brands – OPSM, Laubman & Pank and Budget Eyewear – and two sunglasses brands – Sunglass Hut and Bright Eyes.

Origins

Founder Leonardo Del Vecchio launched his first collection of frames in 1971. Luxottica is now the world’s largest eyewear and eye care company and operates a unique multi-branded and vertically-integrated retail and wholesale business in Australia. Luxottica’s brands include Ray-Ban, Persol, Oakley, Arnette, and Vogue, and the exclusive licences for Prada, D&G, Chanel and Tiffany.

Luxottica employs 8500 people across Australia, New Zealand, Asia-Pacific, South Africa and China.

The ideal franchisee

“Many of our franchisees come from within the organisation – they’ve worked for us, seen the potential of the business and then gone on to buy a franchise,” says Baily.

“The nature of the eye care side of the business means that potential franchisees are generally working within the optical industry. We welcome independent practices that can benefit from our scale and systems with open arms.”

Investment needed

Luxottica has developed a number of different business models to meet the needs of each distinctive brand. As a result, costs vary widely according the brand, location and the nature of the relationship.

Training and support

Extensive support and training are, again, tailored according to brand.