Luxottica's Future is So Bright

Luxottica, of Belluno, Italy, the world's largest eyewear company, has agreed to buy Sunglass Hut, International, of Coral Gables, Fla., the world's largest specialty sunglasses retailer. The deal is rumored to be for $653 million in cash and the assumption of Sunglass Hut's debts, estimated to be about $191 million.

Luxottica is also the owner and operator of the LensCrafter retail optical chain of 860 stores. Luxottica bought LensCrafter (Cincinnati) in 1995 when it acquired U.S. Shoe Corp. It also purchased the sunglasses business of Bausch & Lomb (Rochester, N.Y.) – including the Ray-Ban and Revo brands – in 1999.

Sunglass Hut has nearly 2000 stores in the world, including 1300 Sunglass Hut locations, 110 Watch Station outlets, nearly 120 Watch World stores and about 420 combination stores selling both watches and sunglasses. Its U.S. outlets are mostly located in malls. It also operates in Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Singapore. About a quarter of its $635 million in sales comes from such luxury brands as Luxottica's Ray-Ban and Revo, and Oakley.

Luxottica designs and manufactures mid- and premium-priced eyeglass frames and sunglasses, including the Giorgio Armani and Chanel lines.