LensCrafters is an international retailer of prescription eyewear and prescription

sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names below) are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can s ...

. Its stores usually host independent

optometrist Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Uni ...

s on-site or in an adjacent store. The company has its corporate headquarters in

Mason, Ohio Mason is a city in southwestern Warren County, Ohio, United States, approximately north of downtown Cincinnati. As of the 2020 census, Mason's population was 34,792. Mason is home to Kings Island amusement park and one of the largest tennis stad ...

, a suburb of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

in the US. LensCrafters has been a wholly owned subsidiary of

Luxottica Luxottica Group S.p.A. is an Italian eyewear conglomerate and the world's largest company in the eyewear industry. It is based in Milan, Italy. Luxottica is a vertically integrated company, which has been described as a monopoly—it designs, m ...

, the largest eyewear company in the world, since 1995. At the end of 2018, Luxottica operated 1,158 LensCrafters stores, of which 1,050 are located in North America and 108 are located in China, Hong Kong and India.

History

LensCrafters was founded in March 1983 by E. Dean Butler, who had been a manager with

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

. Butler first developed the idea for a "while you wait" eyeglass retailer after helping a Procter & Gamble colleague produce television commercials for a family optical business in the late 1970s. LensCrafters achieved sales of $2 million in its first year of operation before Butler sold the company to the

United States Shoe Corporation The United States Shoe Corporation (also known as U.S. Shoe) was a retailing conglomerate headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, that operated several retail chains and brands mostly in the fields of shoes, clothing and optical. History U.S. Shoe's his ...

in 1984. Butler remained as LensCrafters' CEO until 1988. LensCrafters had just three locations when U.S. Shoe purchased it; by 1989, there were 350 locations, and LensCrafters was generating 40% of U.S. Shoe's operating income. In 1992, LensCrafters surpassed

Pearle Vision Pearle Vision is an American chain of eye care stores. It is one of the largest franchised optical retailers in North America. The company was acquired by Luxottica, an Italian eyewear company, in 2004. As of December 31, 2018, Pearle Vision oper ...

to become the largest chain of eyeglass retailers in the United States, with roughly $660 million in annual revenue. In 1995, Luxottica launched a hostile takeover attempt of U.S. Shoe, with the goal of acquiring LensCrafters. Luxottica announced in April 1995 that it had reached an agreement to purchase U.S. Shoe for $1.4 billion. Luxottica acquired Pearle Vision in 2004, combining the country's two largest eyewear retailers. LensCrafters India opened its first store at

Mall of India The DLF Mall of India is a shopping mall situated in Sector 18, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. The mall is spread over 7 floors, and includes 330 brands, 80 kiosks, 5 customized shopping zones, along with 75 food and beverages options and a movi ...

, Noida.

References

External links

* * Luxottica Eyewear retailers of the United States 1983 establishments in Ohio American companies established in 1983 Retail companies established in 1983 Companies based in Cincinnati Eyewear retailers of Canada Eyewear companies of the United States 1995 mergers and acquisitions {{retail-company-stub