Anyone with impaired vision know that eyewear does n’t come up cheap . While prices vary bet on the brand , design , and style of frames you select , a pair of prescription medicine spyglass can easily set you back several hundred dollar sign .
And as theLos Angeles Timesexplains , we ’ve all been getting rip off . The medium monetary value of frames is $ 231 , harmonise toVSP Vision Care , but the actual cost of the material is fractional . Acetate frames are made of plastic and metallic element , and those component can cost as niggling as $ 10 , according to some estimates . That means consumers often end up pay 10 to 20 time what the frame of reference and lenses are in reality worth . So what gives ?
This markup can be attributed to the monopoly obtain by a single company called Luxottica . The Italian troupe owns and holds licenses with some of the most recognizable name brand , including Ray - Ban , Oakley , Michael Kors , DKNY , Coach , Burberry , Versace , and Chanel . It also operates more than 7400 optic stores around the universe , including LensCrafters , Pearle Vision , Sears Optical , Sunglass Hut , Target Optical , and EyeMed Vision Care . A lack of contention — which might drive prices down — means Luxottica can keep monocle dear .
Luxottica gained even capital access to the globose mart when it mix with France ’s Essilor eyewear party last fall . At the time of the merger , Essilor CEO Hubert Sagnières framed the creation of the young entity — EssilorLuxottica — as a cocksure for customer . “ The creation of EssilorLuxottica is a defining moment in our fight to elevate the grandness of good vision as both a canonical human right and a cardinal lever for spherical ontogenesis , ” Sagnières say , according to the Australian ophthalmic magazineInsight .
Some grouping , like Consumer Watchdog , think the true cost of eyewear should be part of the national health care give-and-take , right on alongside the high cost of many prescription drugs . However , many companies keep that data closely guarded , as theLos Angeles Timesfound out , and there ’s little fortune that those figure will be made publicly known anytime soon .
[ h / tLos Angeles Times ]
