Essilor
Essilor International is a French multinational corporation specialized in the design, manufacture and sale of ophthalmic lenses, optical equipment and instruments. It is the world's largest manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses. Founded in 1972 out of the merger of two French companies operating in the sector, Essel and Silor, it is headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, near Paris. Since October 2018, it is a subsidiary of EssilorLuxottica which arose out of a merger between Essilor and the Italian eyewear corporation Luxottica.
In January 2017, Essilor announced a merger with Luxottica, in which Essilor would acquire the latter while Luxottica executive chairman Leonardo Del Vecchio would become co-executive chairman of the newly formed holding company, EssilorLuxottica. On 1 October 2018, the new entity was born, resulting in a combined market capitalization of approximately €57 billion.
History
1849–1972: Essel and Silor
Essel was founded in 1849 as a small network of eyeglass assembly workshops in Paris. It expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by acquiring factories in nearby Parisian neighborhoods and Eastern France. Essel soon added frame design and trade to its activities. In 1955 Essel launched a frame design, Nylor, that is still used today. The Nylor system introduced thin nylon that surrounds the lens and is fixed to the frame's higher branch. Essel's breakthrough came in 1959 with the invention of Varilux, the first ophthalmic progressive lens.Silor first started under the name Lissac in 1931 as a retailer of ophthalmic lenses and frames before becoming a lens manufacturer. In 1959, the same year Essel invented the progressive lens, Lissac made a discovery of its own: the Orma 1000 lens, made from a lightweight material.
1972–1979: Creation of Essilor
After many years as rivals, Essel and Silor merged on 1 January 1972 to form Essilor, then the world's third-largest ophthalmic optical firm. Its first year of existence was marked by the creation of Valoptec, a non-trading company composed of stockholder managers who held half the company's capital stock, and the purchase of Benoist-Bethiot, a French lens manufacturer specializing in progressive lenses.In the mid-1970s, Essilor focused on becoming a true optical group specializing in plastic progressive lenses. Many subsidiary activities were first sold off, but in 1974 Essilor fused Benoist-Bethiot with Guilbert-Routit, creating the subsidiary BBGR. Essilor began its transformation from mainly an exporting company to an international company by opening a manufacturing plant in the United Kingdom, and acquiring manufacturing plants in the United States, Ireland and the Philippines. In 1975, the company was listed on the stock exchange. The innovations by Essel and Silor led to the Varilux Orma's launch in 1976.
1980–1989: International growth
The 1980s began with intensified competition. Essilor purchased four new plants in four years, in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Thailand. In France, new instruments facilitated automation of the manufacturing process. Many distributors were acquired or merged with Essilor in Europe and Asia.In the United States, all subsidiaries were brought together under the Essilor of America umbrella. This global network allowed Essilor to launch a new Varilux lens, the VMD, in Europe and the United States.
1990–1999: Partnerships
Essilor has gradually withdrawn its frames business to focus on corrective lenses. It has launched a coating, Crizal, that provides lenses with resistance to scratches, reflections and stains. Essilor partnered with PPG of the United States to develop Transitions, a technology that allows lenses to become darker or lighter depending on the intensity of ambient light. With the acquisition of Gentex, Essilor also launched the polycarbonate Airwear lens, a lightweight, unbreakable material.2000–2009
In 2007 Essilor launched the Essilor Vision Foundation in the USA. This organization was created to run tests in schools to detect vision problems. Essilor Vision Foundation provides the followup care and glasses to children in need.In 2008 Essilor acquired the Swiss company Satisloh, a manufacturer of prescription laboratory equipment.
In 2010, Essilor acquired 50% of the kibbutz-based Shamir Optical Industry. Shamir took advantage of Essilor's worldwide distribution network to develop its activity by launching new products.
2010–2016: Diversification
In 2010 Essilor acquired FGX International, an American company whose brands include Foster Grant. In 2011, Essilor acquired 50% of the Chinese company Wanxin Optical. The growth drivers for the Chinese market are the aging population and the increase of reimbursement for eye care. The 40th anniversary of the merger between Essel and Silor was in July 2012, an occasion to highlight their contributions and improvements on technologies. As of September 2012, Essilor has been involved in the Special Olympics for 10 years, providing almost 100,000 free eyeglasses to the athletes. In May 2013, Safilo and Essilor agreed on a 10-year licensing deal allowing Essilor to use Safilo's Polaroid brand for polarized lenses. In July 2013, Essilor bought 51% of Transitions Optical's stakes from PPG Industries. Essilor will eventually hold 100% of Transitions Optical. The deal was closed in 2014, and aims to develop Essilor's leadership in lenses that adapt to changing light. In March 2014, Essilor announced the acquisition of the Canadian online distributor Coastal.com, which rebranded as Clearly.ca in 2015. Essilor reinforced its presence online, adding Coastal.com to its online subsidiaries, such as MyOnlineOptical, FramesDirect and Eyebuydirect.In 2014, Essilor won four awards at the First Edition of the Vision-X VP Awards. Its Varilux S Series won Most Popular Lens, and the Transitions Signature VII won Most Popular Lens. Its Crizal Forte UV and Mr Blue won Most Popular Lens Coating/Value Add and Best Value Enhancer. In 2015, Essilor International's U.S. subsidiary acquired Vision Source, a service network of independent optometrists, from Brazos Equity Partners LLC for an undisclosed amount. By 19 March 2016 the company had a share value of 23,564 million euros, distributed in 216,477,934 shares.
In March 2016 the company bought the UK online contacts retailer VisionDirect UK, adding to many online eyewear brands Essilor already owns. On 16 August 2016, Essilor International also completed the acquisition of for an estimated £120 million. Founded by entrepreneur Jamie Murray Wells in Wiltshire in 2004, MyOptique has an estimated active customer base of one million and an annual turnover of £57 million. As such, Essilor aimed to broaden its Central European online footprint and further diversify.
2018: Merger with Luxottica
In January 2017, Essilor agreed to merge with Luxottica, subject to regulatory permission and competition conditions.Throughout, Luxottica faced allegations of unfair operating practices, including the abuse of market dominance to artificially inflate prices and also restrict competition via monopolisation. In March 2018, the merger of Essilor and Luxottica received formal clearance from the United States Federal Trade Commission and European Trade Commission without qualifying or prerequisite conditions. A new holding company, EssilorLuxottica, was formally created on 1 October 2018, resulting in combined market capitalization of approximately €57 billion.
Activity and distribution
In 2020, about 88.8% of Essilor's turnover came from the sale of ophthalmic lenses and optical instruments, 8.9% driven by sunglasses and readers and 2.3% from other activities, such as equipment sales.Essilor operates a worldwide network of production plants, prescription laboratories, and distribution centers that supply corrective lenses, glasses, and sunglasses to opticians, optical chains, and consumers.
Scientific and technical heritage
Essilor manages a collection of patents and objects related to its history and collaborates with several optics-related institutions. It offered the Essilor–Pierre Marly collection to the Musée de la lunette. The collection includes medieval spectacles, bourgeois lorgnettes, walking sticks with optical systems, French actress Sarah Bernhardt's lorgnettes, the daughter of Louis XV's glasses, and the iconic white plastic Courrèges Slit. In 2008, Essilor signed a partnership with Le CNAM/PATSTEC to join the Mission nationale de sauvegarde du patrimoine scientifique et technique contemporain.Eyewear and lens brands
- Essilor
- *Varilux – Brand of premium progressive addition lenses
- *Crizal – Industry-leading anti-reflective coating for lenses
- *Eyezen – Digitally surfaced lens marketed towards users of electronic devices
- *Xperio – Polarized sunglass lens
- *Optifog – Fog resistant lens technology
- *Stellest – Lens targeted towards young children, designed to slow the progression of myopia.
- *Orma – Essilor's branding of the CR-39 lens material.
- Transitions – #1 selling brand of photochromic lenses. Formerly a joint venture between Essilor and PPG.
- Foster Grant – American brand selling non-prescription reading glasses; acquired from FGX in 2010.
- Bolon – Chinese ophthalmic frame brand.
- Molsion
- Kodak Lens – Mid-range lens and coating brand, produced under license from Eastman Kodak. Less premium than Essilor's flagship Varilux and Crizal products.
Online retail stores
- Clearly
- Eyebuydirect
- Framesdirect
- Lensway
- My Optique Group
- Vision Direct
Research and development