“There is no competition in the industry, not any more,” he told me. “Luxottica bought everyone. They set whatever prices they please.”
The company’s owned and licensed brands include Armani, Brooks Brothers, Burberry, Chanel, Coach, DKNY, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, Oakley, Oliver Peoples, Persol, Polo Ralph Lauren, Ray-Ban, Tiffany, Valentino, Vogue and Versace.
Along with LensCrafters, Luxottica also runs Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Sunglass Hut and Target Optical, as well as the insurer EyeMed Vision Care.
And Italy’s Luxottica now casts an even longer shadow over the eyewear industry after merging last fall with France’s Essilor, the world’s leading maker of prescription eyeglass lenses and contact lenses. The combined entity is called EssilorLuxottica.
Just went through this maze...Lens Crafters guarantees your satisfaction. My wife and I ordered 2 pair each - sunglasses and clear/bifocals, along with another pair of lenses for existing frames. Discounts and insurance got the cost down to $1200.Butler said he recently visited factories in China where many glasses for the U.S. market are manufactured. Improved technology has made prices even lower than what Dahan recalled.
“You can get amazingly good frames, with a Warby Parker level of quality, for $4 to $8,” Butler said. “For $15, you can get designer-quality frames, like what you’d get from Prada.”
And lenses? “You can buy absolutely first-quality lenses for $1.25 apiece,” Butler said.
Yet those same frames and lenses might sell in the United States for $800.
Butler laughed. “I know,” he said. “It’s ridiculous. It’s a complete rip-off.”
I wanted to change the lens color after delivery...the shade I wanted wasn't available in the frames I picked. Toss the old ones, new ones coming in..no charge.
This company owns pretty much all the frames, lenses, dispensers, and point of sales...the lack of customization for frames/fit is amazingly, unavailable.
TAATS