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Oakley and Ray-Ban lead Luxottica

Oakley headquarters in Foothill Ranch, Calif.

By TIFFANY MONTGOMERY
February 06, 2009 09:45 AM

As the economic crisis dampens demand for luxury glasses, Luxottica is focusing on its more "resilient" optical products, including its Oakley and Ray-Ban brands, according to Luxottica's 2008 sales report released yesterday.

Oakley and Ray-Ban "continue to be successful around the world," Luxottica said, noting that the performance of the two brands was a highlight of 2008.

Luxottica, based in Milan, Italy, did not break out sales for Oakley or Ray-Ban in the report. It did say it expects continued good growth for Oakley in Europe and emerging markets.

The company said the marketplace continued to deteriorate in the fourth quarter, and wholesale customers were "destocking." Sales were below expectations, Luxottica said.

The company believes there is a "global structural reset" going on, that will "right-size" markets down by 10 percent.

Luxottica is taking several steps to deal with the declining economic environment, including reviewing 3 to 4 percent of its store portfolio, streamlining back office operations and logistics, and investing in IT systems.

It also plans to be more "aggressive" on entry-level price points for its luxury brands.

Fourth quarter and 2008 details:

2008 total company sales

Current exchange rates: up 4.7 percent to 5.2 billion Euros for 2008
Constant exchange rates: down 0.8 percent.

Fourth quarter sales

Current exchange rates: up 4 percent to 1.2 billion Euros.
Constant exchange rates: down 5.5 percent.

Projected 2008 net profit

400 million Euros, down 16 percent.

Sunglass Hut stores

2008 same-store sales: down 4.9 percent for the year
Fourth quarter same-store sales: down 12.9 percent
Luxottica did not break out numbers for Oakley stores.