Online eyewear retailer MyOptique Group has unveiled plans to expand in Germany with the acquisition of Netzoptiker.
It follows the group securing a €20m investment to bring its latest funding round to €43m – with the majority slated for international expansion.
MyOptique CEO Kevin Cornils said: ‘This is a great opportunity for the MyOptique Group to bring its expertise and experience in the online optical market and great product to the existing Netzoptiker customer base and to German consumers.’
MyOptique already penetrates the German market through sites including www.de.sunglassesshop.com, www.lenson.com/de and www.glassesdirect.com.
The company said its Netzoptiker acquisition would enable a ‘highly localised and improved experience for German customers, particularly for the prescription glasses category’.
It added that the online market for prescription eyewear had substantial growth potential as it was ‘very underdeveloped throughout Europe’. Three per cent of purchases were made online in Germany compared to up to 20 per cent for other retail categories, and the country was described as the largest market for prescription eyewear in Europe.
A statement added that MyOptique had led the charge of online spectacle sales by introducing the first virtual mirror and investing in an in-house laboratory, and claimed the Glasses Direct unit had ‘saved the British glasses wearing public £40m to date’.
Gross retail sales for the group for the year ended April 2014 were €42m, with prescription glasses turnover projected to grow by over 50 per cent over the next 12 months. Non-UK sales now accounted for nearly two-thirds of its overall turnover.