Eyewear industry

The eyewear sector in which Safilo plays is highly competitive and extremely fragmented, mainly consisting of the design, production and sale of prescription frames and sunglasses, and its retail sales value was estimated at around € 49 billion in 2021. Among the main players there are EssilorLuxottica, Kering Eyewear, Safilo, Marchon, Marcolin, Thelios and De Rigo, and in the various markets, competition is also represented by many national, regional and local players.

We believe that the eyewear sector, which grew at a compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 4%, in the pre-Covid period will continue to experience solid growth, of around +3% CAGR, post-Covid.

We think that the attractiveness of the eyewear sector will continue to be underpinned by fundamental human drivers and by the resilience of the category in downturns and crises. What will possibly evolve in the sector going forward are: 1) consumers are more engaged, digitally savvy & value driven, 2) digital channels (both D2C and B2B) will continue to grow disproportionately, 3)sustainability as an imperative rather than a nice-to-have.