LensCrafters, which opened its first India store at DLF Mall of India, sells a host of brands including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Versace, Coach, Michael Kors and Prada
New Delhi: Reliance Brands Ltd. has acquired the India business of LensCrafters, a prescription eyewear company owned by Italian giant Luxottica Group, two people familiar with the development said.
They said Reliance Brands acquired LensCrafter from DLF Brands, which ran a chain of LenCrafters-branded stores under a franchisee agreement.
One of the sources said Reliance Brands has also acquired a chain of LenCrafters stores from DLF Brands including the outlets located in DLF Mall of India in Noida and DLF Avenue Mall in Saket, New Delhi.
Reliance Brands did not respond to an emailed questionnaire sent on Thursday. Timmy Sarna, managing director of DLF Brands, did not respond to WhatsApp messages.
This is the second Luxottica-owned eyewear business that Reliance Brands has snapped up from DLF Brands after the Mumbai-based company acquired Sunglass Hut in 2022. Sunglass Hut is a premium multi-brand venture that sells a gamut of eyewear products from Ray-Ban, Prada, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana and Oakley, among various other labels.
Founded in 1983, LensCrafters, is one of the leading optical retailers in North America operating over 1,000 stores in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, including five flagship stores in New York City, San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Toronto. The first flagship in Canada was opened in July 2023.
LensCrafters, which entered India in 2020 with a store in DLF Mall of India in Noida, sells a host of brands in its stores including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Versace, Coach, Michael Kors and Prada among other high-end labels.
Meanwhile, IndiaRetailing reported last month that Reliance Brands’ parent company Reliance Retail is in the advanced stages of talks to acquire Kiko Milano, a business that is currently being operated in India by a joint venture partnership between Italy’s Percassi Group and New Delhi-based DLF Brands under Kiko Cosmetics Retail Pvt. Ltd. While Percassi holds the controlling 51% stake in the venture, DLF Brands holds the balance 49%.
In the past, DLF Brands has sold other businesses to Reliance Brands including Mothercare. The person quoted above said DLF Brands has exited those businesses to focus on Pure Home + Living (PHL), a premium home décor and lifestyle brand that sells an assortment of classic and contemporary home accessories.
