Luxottica Group's Sunglass Hut eyes expansion in the Middle East

21 Jun '06

2 min read

Eyewear specialist Luxottica Group SpA has announced that over the next two years its Sunglass Hut chain will have up to 50 stores in the Middle East thanks to new openings under a five-year franchising agreement signed with Azal Group, one of the world's fastest growing retail groups and a leading regional player.

Leonardo Del Vecchio, Chairman of Luxottica Group, said, "The Middle East is clearly one of the markets with the highest potential for fashion and luxury goods and with an ever growing appetite for leading retail brands such as Sunglass Hut. The product offering of new stores will nicely complement our already strong wholesale coverage of the region by giving our portfolio of leading eyewear brands additional significant exposure to local affluent consumers in their home markets."

Sunglass Hut is the largest sun specialty retailer in the world, with a total of 1,806 stores mainly in North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

In the Middle East, Sunglass Hut will be present in the most important high-end shopping malls mainly in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Stores will only carry Luxottica Group leading brands of premium sunglasses, including Bvlgari, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Versace as well as the world's best selling sun brand, Ray-Ban.

Azal Group carries a strong franchise portfolio of over 30 diverse brands that features some of the industry's most recognizable brands. Azal Group has operations in the MiddleEast and Europe

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