Luxottica Group and Tiffany & Co. enter into a ten-year license agreement
Luxottica Group S.p.A., the world eyewear leader, and Tiffany & Co. today announced to have entered into a ten-year license agreement for the design, production and worldwide distribution of exclusive vision and sun collections with the Tiffany & Co. label. This agreement marks Tiffany's debut in the eyewear market. The launch of the first collection by the prestigious company is due at the start of 2008.
'Eyewear is a luxury accessory and as such it represents the natural development of our offer', said Tiffany chairman and managing director Michael J. Kowalski. 'Tiffany's success lies in its wide offer of products of extraordinary design in jewelry, watches, ceramics and accessories. Our customers expectations and the trust they place in our stylistic consistency are the important basis of our story and the image of our brand. We are honored to start this collaboration with Luxottica and we believe that it will entail high-level collection for our customers'.
Andrea Guerra, managing director of the Luxottica Group, commented: 'We are proud about this new partnership with Tiffany & Co., one of the world's most prestigious luxury retailers, a brand whose fame is historically linked to finely made jewelry and accessories. Tiffany's entry in the eyewear market confirms the development of the eyewear product which is now considered to be a luxury accessory in its own right'.
For 169 years Tiffany & Co. has been designing and making prestigious jewelry and accessories, and over the years the Luxottica Group has built up a strong tradition in the production of luxury eyewear and has created collections for some of the most important fashion houses in the world. The licensing agreement is a perfect combination and it will offer high levels of style, quality and service.
Andrea Guerra added: 'In recent years, our Group has further strengthened its leadership of the eyewear market thanks to new license agreements with major luxury brands and to the renewal of existing agreements. This consolidated experience combined with the multi-year term of the license agreement will allow the two companies to develop collections that are truly unique and which fully respect prestige and exclusiveness, the values that Tiffany has made its own throughout its history'.
The distribution of the Tiffany collections will be selective and exclusive: starting with Tiffany stores and the most exclusive outlets in North America, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, the Middle East and Mexico, it will gradually extend to include other markets and new distribution channels.
The Luxottica Group forecasts strong growth in results for the Tiffany & Co. collections. When the collections have been distributed to the main markets and distribution channels, billings from the Tiffany license should be at least €50 million a year.
