Essilor

The French company Essilor has been producing high-quality spectacle lenses and optical equipment for more than 160 years.

As of March 2016, Essilor has more than 5,700 patents in the field of spectacle optics and special equipment, while 150 million euros are invested in research every year. In December 2016, the company already reported on 200 million euros invested annually in research.

Financial performance

2024: Essilor Luxottica's 46% of revenue comes from the United States

As of November 2024

History

Essilor was formed in 1972 in Paris as a result of the merger of two of the largest French manufacturers of spectacle optics: the Essel Society of Eyeglass Makers, founded in 1849, and Silor, founded in 1931 by optician Georges Lisak.

Essel in early 1849 was a network of small optical salons. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the company managed to acquire several French factories for the manufacture of spectacle lenses, and its activities expanded significantly.

Silor was founded in 1931 and specialized in the retail trade of optical lenses and frames.

In 1959, Essel launched the world's first ophthalmic progressive lenses and named them Varilux. In the same 1959, Silor introduced the lightest material for making spectacle lenses at that time - Orma 1000.

After years of fierce competition, the companies decided to unite. On January 1, 1972, the formation of a new optical company Essilor was announced.

First of all, the company focused on the production of progressive lenses, for which it acquired the manufacturer of spectacle lenses from the French company Benoist-Bethiot. Thanks to the developments of Essilor's predecessors, in 1976 a completely new product Varilux Orma appeared on the market - progressive lenses made of an ultra-light polymer material at that time.

Starting in the second half of the 1970s, Essilor began its global expansion, and soon it turned from a French company into an international concern. However, despite this, the optical market required another - a wider range of products was needed.

In the 1990s, Essilor was already the world leader in the production and sale of spectacle lenses. In response to market demands, the company gradually began to expand its activities and concentrate on all types of correcting lenses. It was the first anti-coating for Crizal spectacle lenses that appeared, which protected the lens from scratches, dirt, stains, water drops and glare. Essilor also began to offer Transitions photochromic lenses and polycarbonate lenses made of the lightest and most unbreakable Airwear material. The expansion of the range did not affect the quality of Essilor's main product - progressive lenses. In the 1990s, the fourth generation of Varilux lenses appeared - Varilux Comfort.

In the first ten years of the 21st century, Essilor, in addition to its own products, was engaged in the development of social activities. In 2007, the company founded the Essilor Vision Fund in the United States. This organization is established to conduct vision tests in schools and identify vision problems in the early stages. If necessary, the Essilor Vision Foundation itself provides subsequent eye care and glasses to children.

In addition to producing the lenses themselves, Essilor tries to inform the population more about the ways and important aspects. vision protection. That is why in 2012 the company presented to the market a new parameter for calculating the degree of protection of the eyes from UV radiation - the factor of protection of the eyes from the sun Essilor (E-SPF). The new system, which will help consumers find the best eye protection, was developed by analogy with SPF - a factor in protecting skin from the sun. The E-SPF factor also takes into account the reflection from the rear surface of the lens.

The next generation of progressive lenses are the Varilux S Series lenses. These are the only lenses on the market that provide the widest possible visual fields, balance and minimal "floating effect" when moving, as well as the same visual perception with both eyes.

In 2013, Essilor introduced the Crizal Prevencia spectacle lens coating. Thanks to the technology of selective filters, the coating is able to block the blue-violet part of the blue spectrum of light harmful to the eyes, while skipping the blue-blue part necessary for human health. The Crizal Prevencia coating, like the entire Crizal UV coating family, protects the eyes from ultraviolet radiation, and the lens itself from scratches, stains, water droplets, dust and glare.

On the Russian market, Essilor products were represented by Luys-Optica, the largest distributor of spectacle lenses, frames and equipment for optical workshops on the Russian market. In 2012, both companies joined together to further grow, develop and improve their work with customers.

Awards

According to March 2016, Forbes magazine awarded Essilor 23rd place in the list of the most innovative companies in the world, and the first in the field of optics.