Crapitalism

Your Glasses Got Worse On Purpose

EssilorLuxottica is a Franco-Italian conglomerate headquartered in Paris. €27 billion in annual revenue. Over 18,000 retail stores. 600+ factories and 128 distribution centers across 150 countries. They are the largest eyewear company on the planet by a wide margin.

They own Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol, Oliver Peoples, Costa Del Mar, and Vogue Eyewear.

They manufacture eyewear under license for Prada, Chanel, Versace, Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany, Michael Kors, Coach, Valentino, and Tory Burch. The "Prada glasses" at your optometrist were not designed by Prada. They were not crafted in a Prada atelier. They were made in the same Luxottica factory complex as everything else, on the same production lines, with a licensing sticker applied to the temple. Prada collects a royalty. Luxottica sets the price.

They own LensCrafters. They own Sunglass Hut, with over 3,100 locations worldwide. They own Pearle Vision. They run Target Optical. They own Glasses.com and EyeBuyDirect. 

And they own EyeMed Vision Care, the second-largest vision insurance company in the United States, with 43 million members.

One company manufactures the product, owns the brands, controls the retail, and provides the insurance that pays for it. A columnist on 60 Minutes called it "an optical illusion." Fake competition. Dozens of brands on the wall, one company behind all of them.