Kering to take luxury eyewear brands in-house

Gucci brand owner Kering has announced plans to take the design of eyewear brands including Gucci in-house and will alter its current license agreement with Safilo.

Kering said it will take its €350m eyewear business, made up of 11 brands in-house ‘from design to product development and supply chain, and from branding and marketing to sales’. The project was to be managed under the direction of former Safilo boss Roberto Vedovotto, now CEO of Kering Eyewear.

Safilo shares this morning fell by a quarter on Italy’s stock exchange Borsa Italiana following the announcement.

As part of the strategic move, Kering and Safilo said they jointly intend to terminate the current Gucci license agreement two years in advance, by December 31 2016. It will lead to a total compensation payment to Safilo of EUR90m in three instalments between 2014 and 2018.