The Italian-based Luxottica Group’s brand portfolio boasts some of the world’s most coveted eyewear labels. Its own brands, including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Vogue Eyewear, Persol, Oliver Peoples and Alain Mikli, sit alongside Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Bulgari, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany & Co., Versace and Valentino.
Optical eyewear and sunglasses manufactured and distributed worldwide
The company’s global footprint is just as impressive, with a wholesale distribution network spanning 150 countries and a retail network of more than 7,200 retail stores, including LensCrafters and Pearle Vision in North America, OPSM and LensCrafters in Asia–Pacific, GMO in Latin America and Sunglass Hut worldwide. Product design, development and manufacturing of specialist optical eyewear and sunglasses takes place in dedicated facilities across Italy, China, Brazil, the United States and India.
A place to grow a rewarding career
Luxottica’s President of Optical Retail Australia & New Zealand, Anthea Muir, started her career as an optometrist and has enjoyed nine roles in three countries with Luxottica. She tells The CEO Magazine about why she’s been so committed to the company.
“It’s been a real highlight to be able to have such great success in one organisation, at the same time moving from a medical career to a management career, getting married, having children. I’m so happy to have managed to keep it all going somehow,” says Anthea.
“The thing I love most about my job is that you get to make a difference to people’s lives. We save people’s sight every day, and we improve the quality of life. For example, you take somebody who’s been wearing glasses and put them into contact lenses so they can play sport, or a kid who is bullied at school for their glasses can feel more confident with lenses. We really make a difference to people’s lives and to me, that makes it more than the job.”
‘Luxotticans’ are smart, passionate and innovative
Anthea describes her fellow ‘Luxotticans’ as passionate people who are smart, look forward to change and are committed to Luxottica’s mission: to protect the eyes and enhance the look of women and men around the world, creating the best possible eyewear to satisfy its clients and interpret consumer tastes and aspirations.
“Culture is everything. Culture is a part of your brand proposition to your customers; it flows through everything that you do. With OPSM and Luxottica, we have a very deep and engrained culture about caring for the customer. We are currently doing work around our internal culture and making sure we are where we want there to be and that Luxottica is a place that people want to work at, and stay with long term,” she says.
A clear vision for growth and success
“We have many, many employees who have started their careers and retired with us. I think it is really the history, the brand and the technical know-how that really sets us apart.” As one of the oldest optical retailers in Australia, Anthea is focused on leveraging its rich history and reigniting the brand to lead the market. She says, “Our big purpose at the moment is to be number one in the optical retail market. I see a really big opportunity to take this Australian institution back to where it belongs.”
With this goal in its sights, Luxottica is also looking to continue its steady growth, opening new stores and developing its in-store eye testing. “The addition of new technologies, closer collaboration with the medical industry and more digitised components to the stores will allow better service and a more streamlined customer experience,” says Anthea.
One Sight
As well as the impact on people’s everyday lives and a clear path to success, Luxottica offers its people the opportunity to give back through its global charity, One Sight. “Here in Australia and New Zealand, we run vision clinics in remote indigenous communities, homelessness centres in big cities and school screenings in rural Australia,” says Anthea. “There’s a strong sense of social responsibility within the larger organisation. It’s not about just writing a cheque. We all individually donate our personal time.”
Luxottica key facts
- Company name: Luxottica Australia
- President, Optical Retail Australia & New Zealand: Anthea Muir
- Headquarters: Sydney, Australia
- Industry: Retail & Wholesale
