MILAN—Third quarter net sales for Luxottica Group S.p.A. (MTA: LUX) grew by 3.5 percent at constant exchange rates and 2.9 percent at current rates, driven by retail and e-commerce, the company reported yesterday. Luxottica Group’s overall net sales in the third quarter were €2,215 million. The company’s wholesale division’s net sales were €732 million, +0.9 percent at constant exchange rates and -1.0 percent at current exchange rates. Luxottica Retail division’s net sales were €1,483 million, a 4.8 percent increase at constant exchange rates and 4.9 percent at current exchange rates.

This confirms the effectiveness of strategic initiatives aimed at improving the operating model and the ability of the Group’s retail brands to execute them. Europe and North America drove Sunglass Hut sales, up 8 percent at constant exchange rates and the company also added that positive sales were also driven by LensCrafters in North America, OPSM in Australia and Ray-Ban stores all over the world.

Luxottica Group’s net sales in the first nine months of the year were €6,767 million, up by 1.3 percent at constant exchange rates and a decline of 4.5 percent at current exchange rates. For the nine months, Luxottica’s wholesale division’s net sales were €2,463 million or minus 2.4 percent at constant exchange rates and down by 7.2 percent at current exchange rates. The Retail division’s net sales were €4,305 million or a gain of 3.5 percent at constant exchange rates and minus 2.9 percent at current exchange rates.

In the third quarter, sales from the Group’s e-commerce platforms were up by 16 percent at constant exchange rates. Ray-Ban.com confirmed it is the main driver of the Group’s online business, benefiting from the exclusive launch of special collections and the brand- new campaign for Ray-Ban Studios, which strengthens the link between the brand, music and millennials. SunglassHut.com and Oakley.com contributed to the excellent performance of the online business as well.

In the third quarter, the Group's revenues in North America were up 3.7 percent at constant exchange rates. Wholesale sales increased by 3.9 percent at constant exchange rates with the positive contribution of all sales channels and, in particular, of key accounts, independent eyecare professionals and the sport channel, the company said.

The Retail division’s strong results were driven by all retail brands, with the exception of Sears Optical. “Sunglass Hut continues to be the top destination for consumers for premium eyewear, also thanks to an increasingly omnichannel offering. LensCrafters is continuing the process of transforming its business model, with very satisfying results: revenues grew by 2.7 percent at constant exchange rates and the comparable stores sales returned positive, up by 2.3 percent,” the company said.

"We’re very pleased with the growing results posted in key countries and across all channels in this quarter. We are keeping a good balance between growth and profitability as further proof of the fact that global strategies and quality of execution are delivering the results we expected. A special thanks goes to all the over 80,000 employees of Luxottica who, in this complex journey toward the creation of EssilorLuxottica, have always shown me full confidence, maintaining their passion and the attachment to our Group," stated Leonardo Del Vecchio, executive chairman of Luxottica.

He added, "The strategic renewal that the Group undertook over the last three years strengthened the vertically integrated business model and favored organizational simplification, increasing decision-making speed and execution precision. The excellent results are a solid basis for carrying out the integration with Essilor. In light of the positive trend in the retail and e-commerce businesses and the return to growth of the Wholesale division, we confirm the outlook for 2018, with expected sales growth around 2 percent and solid profitability.”

On Oct. 1, 2018, Luxottica and Essilor announced the creation of EssilorLuxottica, a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of ophthalmic lenses, prescription frames and sunglasses, as VMAIL has previously reported.