EssilorLuxottica beats pre-Covid levels

Eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica is back to pre-Covid turnover levels, partly thanks to the acquisition of GrandVision. The Dutch group, which owns chains like Pearle, became part of EssilorLuxottica’s eyewear empire last year after a lengthy process. All that trouble now appears to have been worth while as it gave the Italian group’s retail activities a strong boost.

Beating pre-Covid

Last year, the world’s largest eyewear manufacturer achieved a turnover rise of 40 % to 17.85 billion euros compared to 2020, when the company was badly affected by the lockdowns. Impressively, that also constitutes a 20 % rise compared to pre-Covid’s 2019.

That is even true excluding GrandVision, which EssilorLuxottica acquired after a lengthy legal battle in July 2021. Including these eyewear stores, EssilorLuxottica’s turnover would climb as high as 21.5 billion euros.

Retail grows to half

Thanks to GrandVision, retail now accounts for half of EssilorLuxottica’s turnover. The other half comes from the production of glasses and frames for the likes of Prada and Chanel. The group also owns the Oakley and Ray-Ban brands.

Last summer, sales have started picking up again, especially in North America and online. The eyewear giant now sells 62 % more via e-commerce than in 2019: online sales now account for 1.5 billion euros in turnover.

Worries from Russia

Net profit rose to 2.06 billion euros, slightly more than the 1.94 billion euros in 2019. EssilorLuxottica also expresses profit as a percentage of turnover, which amounts to 17 %. By 2026, the group wants to further boost its profitability to 19 % to 20 % of its turnover.

Like many others, EssilorLuxottica is temporarily suspending operations in Russia. The group has about a hundred Lensmaster stores in the country, but says there is too much uncertainty and significant disruptions. In principle, Russia and Ukraine account for approximately 1 % of turnover.