EssilorLuxottica
| EssilorLuxottica | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| Type | Public company |
| Industry | Eyewear, Eye care, Consumer electronics |
| Founded | 1 October 2018 |
| Founder | Formed by merger of Essilor (founded 1972) and Luxottica (founded 1961) |
| Headquarters | Paris, France and Milan, Italy |
| Notable Personnel | Francesco Milleri (Chairman and CEO), Leonardo Del Vecchio (Luxottica founder, died 2022) |
| Products | Prescription lenses, eyewear frames, sunglasses, smart glasses |
| Website | https://www.essilorluxottica.com |
EssilorLuxottica is a Franco-Italian eyewear company formed on 1 October 2018 through the merger of the French lens maker Essilor and the Italian frame manufacturer Luxottica. It is the largest company in the global eyewear industry and owns brands including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol, and Oliver Peoples, while also manufacturing eyewear under licence for fashion houses such as Prada, Chanel, and Versace.[1][2] The company is headquartered in Paris and Milan and reported group revenue of about 28.5 billion euros for 2025.[3]
Its relevance to virtual and Augmented reality comes from its partnership with Meta Platforms, for which it is the eyewear-manufacturing and design partner on the Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta lines of camera-and-audio Smart glasses. The collaboration, which the two companies date to 2019, produced Ray-Ban Stories in 2021 and the much more successful Ray-Ban Meta glasses from 2023 onward; by full-year 2025 the partnership had sold more than 7 million AI glasses.[4][5]
History
Predecessor companies
Luxottica was founded in 1961 by Leonardo Del Vecchio in Agordo, in the Belluno Dolomites of northern Italy. It began as a maker of components for the optical industry before growing into a vertically integrated eyewear manufacturer and retailer, owning the Ray-Ban and Oakley brands and large retail chains such as Sunglass Hut and LensCrafters.[6][1] Essilor was created in 1972 from the merger of two French eyeglass makers, Essel and Silor; Essel had introduced the Varilux progressive lens in 1959, and the combined firm became a major maker of corrective lenses.[7]
Merger
In January 2017 Essilor announced an agreement to combine with Luxottica in an all-share deal, with Del Vecchio set to become executive chairman of the new holding company. The transaction was delayed about a year by competition reviews and closed on 1 October 2018, creating EssilorLuxottica with a combined market capitalisation of roughly 57 billion euros and dual headquarters in Paris and Milan.[1][2] Del Vecchio died in June 2022. Francesco Milleri, who had led Luxottica, became chairman and remains chairman and chief executive of EssilorLuxottica.[8]
Business
EssilorLuxottica is vertically integrated across lens manufacturing, frame production, brand licensing, and retail. It owns eyewear brands including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol, Oliver Peoples, and Vogue Eyewear, and holds exclusive manufacturing licences for fashion brands such as Armani, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce and Gabbana, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany and Co., and Versace.[1] Through chains such as Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters, and Vision Express it operated about 17,750 retail stores and employed roughly 203,000 people as of 2025.[3][1] The company has said it controls a large share of the global eyewear market.[2]
For 2025 the group reported revenue of about 28,491 million euros, up 7.5 percent year over year (11.2 percent at constant exchange rates), including an 18 percent jump in fourth-quarter sales to about 7.6 billion euros over the holiday period.[3][4]
Partnership with Meta
EssilorLuxottica is the eyewear partner for Meta Platforms on its consumer smart glasses, supplying frame design, lens technology, and manufacturing while Meta provides the cameras, audio, processors, and Meta AI software. Both companies trace the collaboration to a 2019 agreement.[5][9]
The first product, Ray-Ban Stories, launched in 2021 with cameras and open-ear speakers but no voice assistant; it has since been discontinued.[5] The second generation, the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, was announced on 27 September 2023 at a starting price of 299 US dollars. It added a 12-megapixel camera, 1080p video, a five-microphone array, livestreaming to Facebook and Instagram, and the "Hey Meta" voice assistant, running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chip.[10] Ray-Ban Meta passed 1 million units within about two years and reached roughly 2 million by the end of 2024.[9][5]
In 2025 the partnership expanded beyond the Ray-Ban brand. On 20 June 2025 EssilorLuxottica and Meta announced the Oakley Meta HSTN (pronounced "how-stun"), a performance-oriented line aimed at athletes, starting at 399 US dollars (499 US dollars for an initial special edition). It uses Oakley's PRIZM lenses, a 3K-capable camera, and a battery rated at up to eight hours.[11] At Meta Connect on 18 September 2025 Meta and EssilorLuxottica introduced three more products: a second-generation Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) (from 379 US dollars, 3K video, up to eight hours of battery), the wraparound Oakley Meta Vanguard for sport (499 US dollars, 122-degree camera, Strava and Garmin integration), and the Meta Ray-Ban Display (about 800 US dollars), Meta's first consumer glasses with a built-in heads-up display, paired with an EMG wristband for input.[12][13]
In July 2025 Meta took a stake of nearly 3 percent in EssilorLuxottica, an investment of about 3 billion euros (roughly 3.5 billion US dollars), with reports that it was considering building toward about 5 percent over time.[14][15]
Smart glasses accounted for more than a third of EssilorLuxottica's revenue growth in the third quarter of 2025, and in excess of four percentage points of overall growth came from the wearables division.[5] For full-year 2025 the company said it sold more than 7 million AI glasses, up from about 2 million across 2023 and 2024 combined.[3][4] Chief financial officer Stefano Grassi said the smart glasses business was profitable and that about 20 percent of buyers chose prescription lenses, and chairman Francesco Milleri has described AI glasses as a potential successor to the smartphone.[5][9] The company has said it is scaling annual smart glasses production capacity toward 10 million units.[5]
| Product | Announced | Starting price (US dollars) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ray-Ban Stories | 2021 | 299 | First generation; cameras and speakers, no voice assistant; discontinued[5] |
| Ray-Ban Meta | 27 September 2023 | 299 | 12 MP camera, 1080p video, Meta AI, Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1; about 2 million sold by end of 2024[10][9] |
| Oakley Meta HSTN | 20 June 2025 | 399 | Performance line for athletes; PRIZM lenses, 3K camera, up to 8 hours battery[11] |
| Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) | 18 September 2025 | 379 | Refreshed Ray-Ban Meta; 3K video, up to 8 hours battery[12] |
| Oakley Meta Vanguard | 18 September 2025 | 499 | Wraparound sport frame; 122-degree camera, Strava and Garmin integration[12][13] |
| Meta Ray-Ban Display | 18 September 2025 | ~800 | First consumer glasses with a heads-up display; paired EMG wristband[12] |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "EssilorLuxottica". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EssilorLuxottica.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "EssilorLuxottica: Global Dominance Through Strategic Acquisitions". https://quartr.com/insights/company-research/essilorluxottica-global-dominance-through-strategic-acquisitions.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica says it more than tripled Meta AI glasses sales in 2025". 2026-02-11. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/11/ray-ban-maker-essilorluxottica-triples-sales-of-meta-ai-glasses.html.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Meta Sold Over 7 Million Smart Glasses Last Year, Effectively Tripling Sales in 2025 Alone". 2026-02-12. https://roadtovr.com/meta-ray-ban-smart-glasses-sales-tripled-2025/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 "Meta Glasses Drive More Than A Third Of EssilorLuxottica's Growth". https://www.uploadvr.com/meta-smart-glasses-drive-essilorluxotticas-growth/.
- ↑ "Luxottica Group". https://www.companieshistory.com/luxottica-group/.
- ↑ "History of Essilor International". https://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/essilor-international-history/.
- ↑ "Francesco Milleri". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Milleri.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Meta's Ray-Ban Maker Says Its AI Smart Glasses Could Be the New Smartphone as Sales Skyrocket". https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/meta-ray-bans-are-boosting-sales-for-essilorluxottica/498454.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Introducing the New Ray-Ban - Meta Smart Glasses". 2023-09-27. https://about.fb.com/news/2023/09/new-ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses/.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Meta, EssilorLuxottica unveil Oakley smart glasses". 2025-06-20. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/20/meta-essilorluxottica-oakley-smart-glasses-hstn.html.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 "Everything Meta announced at Connect 2025: second-gen Ray-Ban Meta, Oakley Meta Vanguard and Meta Ray-Ban Display". 2025-09-18. https://www.engadget.com/wearables/everything-meta-announced-at-connect-2025-second-gen-ray-ban-meta-oakley-meta-vanguard-and-meta-ray-ban-display-100007120.html.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Meta Reveals Next-Gen Ray-Ban and New Oakley Vanguard Smart Glasses". https://roadtovr.com/meta-smart-glasses-ray-ban-oakley-vanguard-price-release/.
- ↑ "Meta takes around 3% stake in Ray-Ban-parent EssilorLuxottica, source says". 2025-07-08. https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/US-META-PLATFORMS-ESSILORLUXOTTICA-STAKE-e55e036c-c95b-45e2-9aa6-b4a4a29ce78b.
- ↑ "Meta Reported to Acquire Close to 3 Percent Stake in EssilorLuxottica". https://www.visionmonday.com/technology/article/meta-reported-to-acquire-close-to-3-percent-stake-in-essilorluxottica/.