Latest News Essilor Expands its Footprint in Europe and Latin America By Staff Tuesday, February 12, 2019 12:21 AM CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—Essilor International, an EssilorLuxottica (Reuters: ESLX.PA) subsidiary, announced that it has completed four transactions worldwide, representing combined full-year revenue of around €48 million. Essilor is expanding its footprint in Europe through an agreement to acquire 100 percent of Brille24 GmbH, a leading online retailer of optical products in Germany with annual revenue of nearly €25 million. The acquisition of Brille24 is subject to approval of the German competition authority (Bundeskartellamt). The deal will speed up the development of “a drive-to-store model that gives consumers access to the latest digital technologies combined with the expertise of independent opticians,” Essilor said in a statement.Essilor is strengthening its presence in Greece, where Essilor partner Shamir acquired Union Optic, a prescription laboratory that also distributes optical instruments. Union Optic generates annual sales of about €9 million and operates four branches across Greece and Cyprus. The Union Optics acquisition by Shamir will strengthen the footprint of the Essilor Group in the territory, where Bairamoglou and Unilens are long-standing distributors of Essilor lens and Nikon lens, respectively.In Latin America, Essilor acquired a majority stake in Indulentes, one of the leading prescription laboratories in Ecuador with annual revenue of $9 million. Indulentes will leverage Essilor’s technological know-how to accelerate its expansion in a local market that holds huge potential for progressive and antireflective lenses. This acquisition represents Essilor's first move into Ecuador.In Argentina, Essilor acquired a majority stake in Metalizado Optico Argentino S.A. (MOA), one of the country’s leading prescription laboratories. Buenos Aires-based MOA generates annual revenue of about USD7 million. This laboratory adds to Essilor’s industrial assets in a country that is home to 45 million people and one of the Latin America’s largest ophthalmic optics market.