CINCINNATI & MILAN, 2015-11-12 — /EPR Retail News/ — Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M), one of the premier retailers inthe United States, and Luxottica Group S.p.A. (MTA:LUX; NYSE:LUX), a leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of fashion, luxury and sports eyewear, today announced an agreement to bring the LensCrafters optical retail experience to as many as 500 Macy’s department stores in the U.S. over the next three years.
The licensed department agreement builds on a successful relationship between the two companies that has resulted in the opening of approximately 670 of Luxottica’s Sunglass Hut locations within Macy’s stores to date. Together, Macy’s and Sunglass Hut have more than tripled the size of the sunglass business at Macy’s in the past six years. Using a proven model for success, LensCrafters, a leader in quality eye care, will now be the exclusive optical retailer of Macy’s and the first optical retail brand to expand nationally in a major department store. Macy’s will be the exclusive department store host of LensCrafters shops.
LensCrafters will open its first new Macy’s location in April of 2016, with the goal of opening approximately 100 locations by the end of next year. The stores will feature a new design concept created specifically for Macy’s customers, offering top fashion and luxury eyewear from brands including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Prada and Armani. Each department will be staffed by a LensCrafters affiliated optometrist, offer the industry’s most advanced eye care equipment and leverage the brand’s existing lab network to ensure the highest level of service. Macy’s 35 million customers will have access to the broadest assortment of premium frames, along with a unique in-store digital experience that includes lens simulators and virtual try-on technology.
“We look forward to welcoming LensCrafters into Macy’s stores nationwide and to deepening our successful relationship with Luxottica,” said Jeff Gennette, president of Macy’s, Inc. “In particular, LensCrafters reinforces Macy’s commitment to the health and wellness of our customers. Eye health is critical to everyone’s personal well-being, and easy in-store access to LensCrafters optometrists, personalized service and fashionable product assortment dovetail well with Macy’s strengths. As with Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters will enhance the productivity of our stores and strengthen Macy’s as a shopping destination.”
“Macy’s and Luxottica have a successful history together. Our relationship is built around a shared mission of providing customers with the highest quality products, a passion for style and a broad brand portfolio able to meet diverse consumer choices,” said Adil Khan, CEO of Markets, Luxottica Group. “The optical retail industry has incredible growth potential in North America and we see this agreement as a long-term investment in our customers’ eyes. Macy’s has a highly-engaged, influential customer – we will serve them to the highest standard with an optical experience that is uniquely LensCrafters.”
Macy’s Inc.
Macy’s, Inc., with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, is one of the nation’s premier retailers, with fiscal 2014 sales of $28.105 billion. The company operates about 900 stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guamand Puerto Rico under the names of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s Outlet, Macy’s Backstage and Bluemercury, as well as the macys.com, bloomingdales.com and bluemercury.com websites. Bloomingdale’s inDubai is operated by Al Tayer Group LLC under a license agreement.
Luxottica Group S.p.A.
Luxottica is a leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of fashion, luxury and sports eyewear. Its portfolio includes proprietary brands such as Ray-Ban, Oakley, Vogue Eyewear, Persol, Oliver Peoples and Alain Mikli, as well as licensed brands including Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Bvlgari, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, Prada,Ralph Lauren, Tiffany and Versace. The Group’s global wholesale distribution covers 130 countries and is complemented by an extensive retail network of over 7,000 stores, with LensCrafters and Pearle Vision in North America, OPSM and LensCrafters in Asia-Pacific, GMO in Latin America and Sunglass Hut worldwide. In 2014Luxottica posted sales of over 7.6 billion euro and had approximately 78,000 employees. More information available at www.luxottica.com.
Macy’s Inc.
Jim Sluzewski, 513-579-7764
Senior Vice President – Corporate Communications and External Affairs
Jim.Sluzewski@macys.com
or
Luxottica Group
Jane Lehman, 646-335-5200
Vice President, Corporate Communications, N.A.
JLehman@us.luxottica.com
SOURCE: Macy’s, Inc.