MILAN, Italy, and LONDON, April 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Luxottica Group S.p.A. (NYSE: LUX; MTA: LUX), a global leader in the design, manufacturing and distribution of premium fashion and luxury eyewear, and Stella McCartney Limited, a joint venture between Ms. Stella McCartney and Gucci Group N.V., announced today the signing of a new long-term exclusive license agreement for the design, production and worldwide distribution of sunglasses under the luxury lifestyle brand Stella McCartney.
The agreement, which will begin on January 1, 2009, is for an initial term of six years, automatically renewable for an additional five-year term. The first collection will be launched in the summer of 2009.
Stella McCartney first introduced her eyewear line in 2003. She will continue to personally follow each step of the creative process, together with the Luxottica design and product team.
Marco Bizzarri, CEO and President of Stella McCartney commented: "This new agreement is geared towards strengthening further the presence of Stella McCartney eyewear in the market and aimed to further increase the international development of the brand. We are particularly pleased to partner with Luxottica, the leading company in the sector, and combine our experience and expertise to make it a particularly strong partnership."
Andrea Guerra, CEO of Luxottica Group, commented: "We are extremely pleased with the new partnership with Ms. Stella McCartney and the Gucci Group. She is one of the most renowned and respected young talents of the new generation of fashion designers. The values that her brand stand for are a perfect fit for our brand portfolio and an important step toward further strengthening its offering."
Stella McCartney sunglasses will be distributed through premium retail locations. After an initial launch phase during which the new collections will be distributed through Stella McCartney stores and the most exclusive doors in North America, Japan, Hong Kong and the Middle East, distribution will be broadened to reach all other key global eyewear markets.
About Luxottica Group
Luxottica Group is a global leader in eyewear, with over 6,000 optical and sun retail stores in North America, Asia-Pacific, China, South Africa and Europe and a strong brand portfolio that includes Ray-Ban, the best selling sun and prescription eyewear brand in the world, as well as, among others, license brands Bvlgari, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tiffany and Versace, and key house brands Oakley, Oliver Peoples, Vogue, Persol, Arnette and REVO. In addition to a global wholesale network that touches 130 countries, the Group manages leading retail brands such as LensCrafters and Pearle Vision, in North America, OPSM and Laubman & Pank in Asia-Pacific, and Sunglass Hut globally. The Group's products are designed and manufactured in six Italy-based high-quality manufacturing plants and in the only two China-based plants wholly-owned by a premium eyewear manufacturer. For fiscal year 2007, Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX; MTA: LUX) posted consolidated net sales of euro 5 billion. Additional information on the Group is available at http://www.luxottica.com .
About Stella McCartney
The primary product focus of the Stella McCartney business continues to be its successful core women's ready to wear collection, but in recent years the company has focused on putting in place the foundations for strategically important partnerships with specialists in their related domains. The company has also recently been investing more heavily behind the development of its accessories collections, while still respecting the brand's principles to avoid use of leather and other animal products. The lifestyle luxury brand also includes fragrance, organic skin care, lingerie, a performance range with adidas and travel with LeSportsac. The Company confirmed its worldwide profitability in February 2008 and announced a series of retail development projects including in Paris, Bahrain, Kowloon and Beijing and India. Additional information on the brand is available at http://www.stellamccartney.com .
Luxottica Group Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those which are anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the ability to successfully integrate Oakley's operations, the ability to realize expected synergies from the merger with Oakley, the ability to successfully introduce and market new products, the ability to maintain an efficient distribution network, the ability to predict future economic conditions and changes in consumer preferences, the ability to achieve and manage growth, the ability to negotiate and maintain favorable license arrangements, the availability of correction alternatives to prescription eyeglasses, fluctuations in exchange rates, the ability to effectively integrate other recently acquired businesses, as well as other political, economic and technological factors and other risks and uncertainties described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward- looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update them.
SOURCE Luxottica Group S.p.A.
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