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Belgian LensGroup, which owns lens web shop LensOnline, has acquired two German competitors.The entry on the German market means the company is now active in five European countries.
Major market
With Contactlinsenman.de and Bestpricelens.com now in its portfolio, LensGroup is now active in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany. These two web shops also immediately add four million to its overall turnover, which now stands at about thirty million euro. “The German market is very interesting to us, because it is eight times larger than the Belgian market”, founder Bert Boon told De Tijd. His ambition is to become a major European player.
Online lens sales are fifteen percent of the overall market in Belgium and LensOnline is by far the dominant store thanks to a series of acquisitions. It not only absorbed competitors online, but also collaborates with independent opticians, where customers can pick up their lenses.
Major competition
“We also want to collaborate with independent opticians in Germany”, Boon said. “We will start out online however and build a sizeable customer base first.”
LensGroup does not exclude the possibility that it will acquire other companies in Germany, but it will have to take the competitive market into account. “German lens prices have dropped a lot, because Amazon and several other companies are active in this market. The two web shops we have acquired are profitable”, Boon said.
