Luxottica: North America’s structurally growing market

Luxottica 2013 Investor Day to be hosted in Mason (Ohio, U.S.A.)

Milan (Italy) - Mason (Ohio, U.S.A.), October 8, 2013 – Luxottica Group S.p.A. (MTA: LUX; NYSE: LUX), a leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and sale of fashion, luxury and sports eyewear, announces that today it is holding its 2013 Investor Day in Mason (Ohio, U.S.A.). North America is Luxottica’s leading region with revenues of USD 5.3 billion, over 4,800 stores and approximately 40,700 employees as of December 31, 2012.

“Luxottica is like a tree with two main roots which are both essential and mutually reinforcing." - commented Andrea Guerra, Chief Executive Officer of Luxottica - "The first is in Italy, where our history of excellence in design, innovation and craftsmanship started over 50 years ago, and the second is in North America, where you will find our exceptional distribution network and the origins of many of our major brands. Our presence and our commitment to North America have been strong and stable and will continue to be so in the future. We believe that North America is key to delivering the full potential of our Company and we plan to capitalize on the available market opportunities by continuing to apply our history and culture of product innovation and quality, high-value services and proven success to this region.”

“Over the years, Luxottica has achieved unique positioning in the North American market as a result of its vertical and horizontal integration strategy.” Andrea Guerra added. “We have the widest and most diversified distribution network combined with a portfolio of outstanding brands and an efficient organizational structure. We are therefore perfectly positioned to seize the many opportunities offered by the market.”

North America: the future looks bright

Today, the eyewear industry in North America offers untapped growth opportunities due to the large number of people still undiagnosed, the relatively low number of eye exams provided on a yearly basis and the low penetration of premium products based on Company estimates and industry data. North American consumers in general are primarily focused on value and functionality, but are increasingly more attentive to design and fashion along with the ability to shop anywhere and anytime.

The eyewear industry in North America is estimated to be a USD 35.5 billion market with the opportunity to grow to USD 44-47 billion by 2020 according to Vision Council and Company estimates. This projected market growth will be driven primarily by an increase in the number of targeted consumers and an enhanced array of products and services to be made available to the market.

More specifically, the optical segment is expected to grow as a result of demographic factors, such as an increase in the number of individuals who will need vision correction products, by an increase in the number of eye exams per year, and by the greater penetration of premium eyewear. The development of the sun segment will be supported by the further “premiumization” of the category and the increase in the number of frames purchased per customer, as North American consumers continue to focus on brands, style and design and opt for polarized lenses as part of their eyewear selection.

Luxottica Retail North America

Through its multi-brand positioning, Luxottica Retail Optical North America (RONA) serves consumers with different lifestyles and is looking to boost sales from USD 2.5 billion generated in 2012 to over USD 3 billion by 2016. Operating profitability is also expected to increase by 200 bps by 2016. To support this growth, the Company plans to make investments of approximately USD 250 million over the next three years. Overall, RONA’s goal is to elevate the eyewear and eyecare experience and tap into the huge growth opportunities that exist in the market.

LensCrafters, our unique, distinctive and the largest optical retailer in North America, will set the pace in reaching this goal. LensCrafters, the category leader, has consistently been at the forefront of breakthrough technologies and today has formulated a roadmap which leverages a combination of technological innovation, improved service to consumers and eye-care.

Sunglass Hut will strengthen its leading position in the sunglass segment by increasing the sale of premium products, attracting fashion-forward customers, further developing its presence in new distribution channels such as e-commerce platforms and department stores as well as in gateways and megacities. Sunglass Hut’s newly opened flagship store in New York City’s Times Square is an example: a place where the most advanced technologies turn shopping time into a new, personalized customer experience.

In North America, in the 2010-2013 timeframe, Sunglass Hut expects total sales and operating profitability to increase by 36% and 350 bps respectively, supported by USD 100 million of investments. 2013 comparable store sales1 are estimated to grow between 6% and 7%.

Looking beyond North America, Sunglass Hut’s global expansion is on track to become an over 4,000-store network, with the ambition to reach global sales of approximately EUR 2 billion and increase its operating profitability by approximately 300 bps by 2016.

2013 and beyond: winning in the marketplace

Andrea Guerra also commented: “Our performance during the third quarter was strong and aligned with the solid first half results. We continue to experience a healthy consumers’ demand in key markets, supported by the strong momentum of our brand portfolio. However, the further weakening of several currencies versus the Euro affected our results.

Going forward, we are confident that the power of our brands and the strength of our distribution network will continue to support our growth worldwide.”

Audio and video webcast

The audio and video portion and related presentations during Luxottica’s 2013 Investor Day will be publicly available via live webcast starting at 9:00 AM US ET (2:00 PM GMT, 3:00 PM CET) on our website at http://www.luxottica.com/en/investors.

Information from the event will also be available on the official Twitter page for Luxottica at Luxottica (@Luxottica).