Luxottica Group S.p.A. (Milan) announced it will expand its retail operations in North America by acquiring D.O.C Optics, an optical retail business with approximately 100 stores located primarily in the Midwest U.S.
The total purchase price is expected to be approximately $90 million, with the closing anticipated to occur during the first quarter of 2007, subject to customary closing conditions and U.S. regulatory approvals.
“Our North American retail business is today on track to deliver strong results for 2006, yet we believe that there continue to be opportunities for significant additional growth in that market,” said Leonardo Del Vecchio, chairman of Luxottica Group. “The D.O.C Optics transaction represents another key step in our long-stated strategy to maximize growth opportunities for our optical retail brands, including LensCrafters and Pearle Vision.”
D.O.C Optics, founded in 1946 by Dr. Donald Golden, has stores in Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Florida and Illinois, with a majority of its locations in and around Detroit. The company’s a brand image, customer profile and existing focus on fashion are already aligned with those of the Luxottica Group's retail brands already operating in the region.
Luxottica Group operates nearly 5700 optical and sun retail stores in North America, Asia-Pacific, China and Europe. Among the brands available at its stores are Bvlgari, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Prada, Versace and Polo Ralph Lauren. Key house brands include Vogue, Persol, Arnette and REVO. The company also manages leading retail brands such as LensCrafters and Pearle Vision in North America, OPSM and Laubman & Pank in Asia-Pacific, and Sunglass Hut globally. Its products are designed and manufactured in six manufacturing plants in Italy and in the only two China-based plants wholly-owned by a premium eyewear