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French-Italian EssilorLuxottica has taken a big step outside the eyewear world with its acquisition of fashion brand Supreme. Moreover, a big name would like to enter the eyewear giant’s capital: Meta.
Wanted: focus
EssilorLuxottica is said to have paid 1.5 billion dollars for Supreme, considerably less than the American fashion brand is actually worth. According to Belgian newspaper De Tijd, the merger company benefits from the fact that seller VF Corp is under pressure from some shareholders who think VF (also known for brands like Kipling and The North Face) should focus more on a few strong brands.
In turn, (part of) EssilorLuxottica would be a takeover target for Meta: Reuters reports that the Facebook parent would like to take a 5 % stake in the manufacturer of Ray-Ban, among others. In fact, the two giants are already working together to produce “smart glasses” for that brand, which reportedly is the trigger for this deal. Judging by its current market value, Meta would have to pay just under five billion dollars for that stake.
EssilorLuxottica was created in 2018 when the merger of French Essilor with its Italian neighbour Luxottica was finally approved. Besides Ray-Ban, the brand produces eyewear and accessories for big names such as Oakley, Burberry, Dolce&Gabbana, Ralph Lauren and Jimmy Choo. Supreme, for its part, was founded in New York in 1994 as a skateboard brand. It has been in VF Corp’s portfolio for barely three years, as the latter paid two billion dollars for the brand in late 2020.
