Breaking
The
Cartel
As a consumer you don’t stand a chance.
The eyeglass industry is consumed by Luxottica acting as a monopoly. This means consumers are overpaying for eyeglasses and have limited options for good quality products.
Luxottica’s control is pervasive. From manufacturing frames and lenses, to their retail presence, they are working to squeeze out the independent providers in an attempt to inflate the price of eyeglasses for the consumer.
“Luxottica bought everyone. They basically set whatever prices they like.”
Charles Dahan
Luxottica has a dominating hold on which eyeglass frames are available in most retail stores. They manufacture and control distribution for more than 30 brands.
By marketing their glasses under so many different labels they are creating confusion for the consumer and providing an illusion of choice. When shopping for glasses you would expect the different brands to be unique, in reality the majority of these frames will all be produced in one of their 6 factories around the world and are only differentiated by the logo they affix at the end.
Long gone are the days where a reputable brand defines quality. Shop smart to find the intersection of quality and style. At Great Glasses, we intentionally avoid these brands. We search all over the world to find high end product, without the name, to provide a smart looking affordable alternative for you.
Luxottica has a dominating hold on which eyeglass frames are available in most retail stores. They manufacture and control distribution for more than 30 brands.
By marketing their glasses under so many different labels they are creating confusion for the consumer and providing an illusion of choice. When shopping for glasses you would expect the different brands to be unique, in reality the majority of these frames will all be produced in one of their 6 factories around the world and are only differentiated by the logo they affix at the end.
Long gone are the days where a reputable brand defines quality. Shop smart to find the intersection of quality and style. At Great Glasses, we intentionally avoid these brands. We search all over the world to find high end product, without the name, to provide a smart looking affordable alternative for you.
To gain further control in the industry, Luxottica the world’s largest frame manufacturer, acquired Essilor, the world’s largest lens manufacturer. This was a highly contentious move right from the start and has been under heavy anti-competition scrutiny from the start. When one company in the industry has this much control the consumer ultimately suffers as innovation is blocked and prices remain high.
A lesser documented alliance was Essilor’s acquisition of SatisLoh. The leading company in lens manufacturing technology. This happened prior to the Essilor / Luxottica merger and had major implication for the independent optical’s ability to provide choice to the consumer.
This is admittedly where the consumer has the hardest time navigating through the industry. You often walk through a mall with 2 or 3 different opticals within and you believe the comparison allows you to make an informed decision. Unknown to you, each of those opticals are owned by Luxottica. You are shopping from the same company through multiple different stores pretending to compete with each other.
This is not limited to instore retail, Luxottica owns at least 8 different e-commerce stores and competes against themselves to confuse you about where your glasses are coming from.
It feels like you have been set up to lose when shopping for glasses. You walk a mall trying to find the best deal and can only find retailers owned by Luxottica, selling frames manufactured by Luxottica, where they want to provide lenses into your glasses made by Luxottica. All hiding behind an illusion of choice. This is a very difficult industry to shop in and it is our mission to provide you with choice in this broken industry.
This is admittedly where the consumer has the hardest time navigating through the industry. You often walk through a mall with 2 or 3 different opticals within and you believe the comparison allows you to make an informed decision. Unknown to you, each of those opticals are owned by Luxottica. You are shopping from the same company through multiple different stores pretending to compete with each other.
This is not limited to instore retail, Luxottica owns at least 8 different e-commerce stores and competes against themselves to confuse you about where your glasses are coming from.
It feels like you have been set up to lose when shopping for glasses. You walk a mall trying to find the best deal and can only find retailers owned by Luxottica, selling frames manufactured by Luxottica, where they want to provide lenses into your glasses made by Luxottica. All hiding behind an illusion of choice. This is a very difficult industry to shop in and it is our mission to provide you with choice in this broken industry.
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