MARCHON EYEWEAR CONTINUES TO INVEST IN ITALY

Start of an important expansion program at its base in the Belluno eyewear cluster Marchon Eyewear – a leading global eyewear company and member of VSP Global®, the group composed of leading companies in various segments of the optical industry - has announced that 2015 will bring the significant expansion of the manufacturing systems and office areas at Puos d'Alpago, its Italian base in the Belluno eyewear cluster. Specifically, the potential increase in manufacturing capacity will be about 30% thanks to the reorganization of logistics that will free up an area of almost 2,000 square meters and make it possible to carry out a series of technological upgrades aimed at rationalizing function flows and reducing process variables. In parallel, the office area will be expanded by about 800 m2 on two floors and will include the addition of a showroom. The Group's new investment in Italy totals about 3 million euros and will complete Marchon's overall reorganization of the European area that began a couple of years ago. Recently, Marchon centralized logistics at European level by creating a stocks and warehouse hub in Amsterdam to foster order management optimization in the EMEA area. In Treviso it opened Marchon MB, "Marketing and Brand", a subsidiary dedicated to the global development and coordination of marketing and communication actions for the "Made in Italy" and European brands. Consequently, the company has disposed of the spaces at Fortogna which are now obsolete and no longer functional. Operating since 1995 and upgraded in 2011, the new investment confirms the strategic nature of the American group's base in Italy. Claudio Gottardi, president and CEO of Marchon Eyewear, commented: "Italy is distinguished for manufacturing and creative know-how as well as its manufacturing and quality competitiveness. On the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the Group's presence in the territory, we decided to develop an investment plan oriented toward taking the opportunities that arise on the market. The Group continues its double-digit growth and we believe that the skills of our Italian base are a significant part of our global expansion strategy aimed at strengthening market shares outside the United States."