Every 3 out of 5 people use glasses globally. But do you know about Luxottica - the Italy based company who is present in 150+ countries & has a retail network of 9k+ stores? They control over 80% of the major eyewear stores in its $114.9 bn global industry – complete monopoly
How did they create a monopoly?
Exclusive, long term licensing agreements with sunglass designers to design, produce & distribute.
In 1988, they became the 1st sunglass company to sign licensing agreements with designers, giving them a huge advantage over the competitors. Now they have 11 prestigious house brands & owns license of 15 designer labels. A big share of their revenue comes from Rayban, Oakley
Vertical integration. Luxottica not only owns eyewear brands but also boasts their own retail locations where priority is given to their own brands over competing brands. Since Oct 2018, they are EssilorLuxxotica after merging with the French lens maker Essilor
What power does a monopoly give?
The power to control the price of their products. Since they own most of the popular brands, customers have very little choice than to select a Luxottica glass at a high price.
Now you know why your desired sunglasses cost so much
