Essilor Pursues Global Growth Strategy With Partnerships and Acquisitions in India, Asia and the United States
12 January 2006 - 6:43PM
PR Newswire (US)
CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France, January 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Essilor, the world leader in ophthalmic optics, is pursuing
expansion in India, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China-all markets with
high growth potential-while continuing to broaden its coverage in
the United States. In India, Essilor India Private Ltd, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Essilor International, and India's GKB
Rx Lens Private Ltd have entered into a joint-venture agreement
through which Essilor India will acquire a 50% interest in GKB's
prescription laboratory and lens wholesaling business. The
agreement includes an option to increase Essilor's stake in the
future. Based in Kolkata, family-owned GKB Rx Lens Private Limited
is a pioneer in the Indian ophthalmic lens industry. It serves
independent opticians and eye care practitioners via a nationwide
network of eight prescription laboratories, with $10 million in
annual revenues. The agreement has enabled Essilor to enhance its
leadership in India, one of the world's fastest growing ophthalmic
lens markets. The Company will also be able to leverage its
multi-channel strategy in the prescription segment through a second
network that will operate alongside the seven proprietary Essilor
laboratories and the other Essilor partnerships. The joint venture
will be led by the current GKB Rx Lens management team and several
Essilor India executives. It will have access to Essilor technology
to broaden its range of products. With solid positions in all of
the country's leading cities, Essilor is today number one in
India's fast growing plastic and progressive lens market. In
Taiwan, Essilor has signed a joint venture agreement with Polylite,
the second largest company in the local corrective lens market.
Polylite Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, which will be owned 51% by Essilor
and 49% by Polylite, will combine all of Polylite's prescription
laboratories and lens distribution operations in Taiwan, Hong Kong
and China, representing revenue of around $10 million in 2005.
Polylite Asia Pacific Pte Ltd will be led by the current Polylite
management team. As part of the agreement, Essilor has also
acquired a 12.1% stake in Polylite's manufacturing division. The
alliance has enabled Essilor to enter Taiwan, one of the Asian
countries where the Company did not yet have any local operations.
The Taiwanese market, which is characterized by a high percentage
of medium/high index materials and anti-reflective lenses, offers
significant potential for progressive lenses. In addition, the
Company has strengthened its positions in the prescription
laboratory segment in Hong Kong and China, where it already owns
several networks. Lastly, in the United States, Essilor of America,
Essilor International's US subsidiary, acquired two new
prescription laboratories in late 2005. The acquisitions were in
line with the strategy being pursued for the past ten years, which
focuses on serving eye care professionals and continuously adding
technological value to lenses. The two laboratories-ACO Lab Inc.
(based in Commerce, CA, near Los Angeles) and Focus Optical Labs
Inc. (Chicago, IL)-have revenues of respectively $3.8 million and
$3.5 million. They will continue to be managed by their former
owners and will now distribute the Varilux(R) and Crizal(R) brands.
Essilor International is the world leader in ophthalmic optical
products, offering a wide range of lenses under the flagship
Varilux(R), Crizal(R), Airwear(R) and Essilor(R) brands to correct
myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia and astigmatism. Essilor operates
worldwide through 16 production sites, 190 lens finishing
laboratories and local distribution networks. The Essilor share
trades on the Euronext Paris market and is part of the benchmark
CAC 40 index (ISIN: FR 0000121667; Reuters: ESSI.PA; Bloomberg: EF
FP). Investor Relations and Financial Communication Veronique
Gillet Phone: +33-1-49-77-42-16 DATASOURCE: Essilor CONTACT:
Investor Relations and Financial Communication, Veronique Gillet,
Phone: +33-1-49-77-42-16
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