CHINA. Luxottica Group has partnered with China Duty Free Group (CDFG) to exclusively debut its optical eyewear category in global travel retail.
The new optical eyewear collections have debuted at the Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex in Haitang Bay, featuring Luxottica Group brands Ray-Ban and Burberry.
The category — designed for prescription glasses wearers — has already driven incremental sales with Burberry’s optical glasses range contributing to a high single-digit percentage of the brand’s total sell-out within the first two months.
According to the company, the early success of Ray-Ban and Burberry’s optical eyewear roll-outs at CDF Mall paves the way for more Luxottica Group brands to enter the burgeoning eyewear segment.
Luxottica and CDFG have also launched a clear lens line from Ray-Ban for non-prescription wearers. The range appeals to travellers wanting to wear clear glasses for fashion purposes. The lenses have been equipped with blue light filtering technology to protect users’ eyes from digital screens. They also feature photochromic lenses that darken when exposed to sunlight.
In August, Luxottica Group introduced a third category to its non-sunglasses offer at CDF Mall, launching snow goggles from Oakley, which is a sponsor of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
“As part of our enduring commitment to this strategic region, Luxottica is thrilled to debut the new Optical collection with our long-standing partners at China Duty Free Group,” said Luxottica Global Travel Retail Director Enrico Destro.
“Together, our goal is to offer the best-in-class and the widest range of eyewear categories to our valued travel retail consumers. We are now growing the eyewear category beyond sunglasses to meet the diverse and evolving needs of our valued customers.”
CDFG Vice President of Central Merchandising Division, Fashion & Accessories and Watches & Jewellery Mei Li Lee added, “China Duty Free Group is proud to be the first travel retailer in the world to debut the latest eyewear innovations from Luxottica.
“These new categories take great strides to meet the unique needs of our consumers, which resonates with our customer-centred philosophy. It has been very rewarding to see the early success of Burberry and Ray-Ban in the optical segment, and we’re confident that the latest categories will also contribute to the growth of eyewear in the channel.”
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