EssilorLuxottica, World’s Largest Eyewear Company, Buys 5.1% Stake in Nikon
EssilorLuxottica, the world’s largest eyewear company, has purchased a 5.1% stake in Nikon and is treating it as a “long-term financial investment to support the company and its management.”
While its name is less known by design, EssilorLuxottica is the largest company in the global eyewear space as it owns several brands like Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol, and Vogue Eyewear, as well as the exclusive rights to produce eyewear with many high-end fashion names like Prada. It is also the parent company of LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, and Sunglass Hut as well as eyewear insurance company EyeMed. Since it produces glasses, owns the stores that sell them, and owns an insurance company that is accepted at those stores, there is a strong argument that EssilorLuxottica is vertically integrated.
It is also the company that Meta chose to partner with to produce its Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2021 and with whom it continues to work. In July of last year, EssilorLuxottica purchased the indefinite rights to use Kodak’s brand for any products or services in connection with its business.
As of October 2024, the company has a market cap of $106.24 billion.
Now the eyewear brand has invested in Nikon. This is, however, not the first time the two companies have gotten together. According to Reuters, EssilorLuxottica entered into a joint venture with Nikon in 2000 to create Nikon-Essilor, a wholesale lens business based in Tokyo and which serves regional and global customers. At the time, the agreement was with Essilor which joined with Luxottica in 2017.
“Nikon Essilor Co. Ltd is a wholesale company based out of Ryogoku, Tokyo Japan. The Nikon-Essilor partnership began in 2000 with a strong focus on innovation. Our mutual success has been fostered by addressing the challenges confronting visual corrections and improving quality of life,” the company describes itself.
“Our reputation is largely founded on our outstanding innovations, which continue to pave the way for the future of optics. Nikon-Essilor seeks to establish strong connections with partner opticians and customers through our common passion for pushing the limits of eyeglasses.”
The 5.1% investment stake in Nikon by EssilorLuxottica equates to a 170 million euro ($187 million) investment and was revealed as part of a regulatory filing.
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