* Leonardo Del Vecchio (born 22 May 1935, Milan, Italy) is the founder and chairman of Luxottica, a $3 billion (sales) designer and manufacturer of high-quality eyeglass frames. The firm owns the Sunglass Hut and Lenscrafters chains with a total of over 6000 stores. According to Forbes magazine, he is the second richest man in Italy, after Michele Ferrero with a net worth of 6.3 billion dollars (Forbes, 2009) and 71st in the world rankings (also Forbes 2009).
* He was born in Milan, Italy in 1935 as a child of an impoverished family. His father died five months prior to his birth. He was given to an orphanage by his mother due to the reason that his mother was unable to support him financially. He began his career as the apprentice to a tool and dye maker in Milan, but decided to turn his metalworking skills to making spectacle parts. So in 1961 he moved to Agordo in the province of Belluno, which is home to most of the Italian eyewear industry. The new company was Luxottica s.a.s., a limited partnership. In 1967 he started selling complete eyeglass frames under the Luxottica brand, which proved successful enough that by 1971 he ended the contract manufacturing business. Convinced of the need for vertical integration, in 1974 he acquired Scarrone, a distribution company. In 1981 the company set up its first international subsidiary, in Germany, the first in a rapid period of international expansion. The first of many licensing deals with a designer was struck with Armani, in 1988.
Source
*The world market for eyewear is over $100 billion (link). Who knew?
Highlights
* in 1961 he moved to Agordo in the province of Belluno, which is home to most of the Italian eyewear industry.
==MOVING THE BUSINESS HEADQUARTERS INTO THE MOST OPTIMAL LOCATION==
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