Essilor continues to expand in sun lenses

Essilor has continued expansion in the sunwear sector with the acquisition of Costa Sunglasses in a deal that valued the US company at $270m.

The acquisition will allow Costa, which Essilor said was the fastest growing performance sunglass brand in the US, to leverage Essilor’s expertise in surface coatings and prescription sun lenses – an area that accounts for just 5 per cent of Costa’s revenue. The companies said the acquisition would also allow them to work together to broaden product offerings.

Expansion into other territories will be another priority. Essilor said Costa currently derived most of its revenue from the south-eastern US, but new distribution strategies would be introduced to grow business in other parts of the country and around the world.