Luxottica Group S.p.A. reported net sales at its Wholesale Division, which owns Oakley, rose to €555.1 million ($784 mm) in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from €518.3 million ($669 mm) in the third quarter of 2010. That equated to a 10.7 percent increase at constant exchange rates for the Italian company and +7.1 percent increase at current exchange rates.
In the first nine months of 2011, net sales for the division were €1.90 billion ($2.50 bb), up 11.9 percent at constant exchange rates from the €1.72 billion ($2.26 bb) recorded for the first nine months of 2010 (+10.3 percent at current exchange rates).
“During the quarter, Ray-Ban and Oakley's performance were once again exceptional and strong sales of premium and luxury brands such as Burberry, Tiffany and Ralph Lauren were also recorded,” the company said in its earnings release. “The STARS program and the Travel retail business were also very successful this quarter.”
Operating income for the Wholesale Division amounted to €104.9 million ($148 mm) in the third quarter of 2011, up 10.5 percent compared with the €94.9 million ($122 mm) recorded for the third quarter of 2010. The operating margin rose from 18.3 percent in the third quarter of 2010 to 18.9 percent for the third quarter of 2011. In the first nine months of 2011, the operating margin was 23.2 percent (21.6 percent in the same period of 2010).
Sunglass Hut, the Group's sun specialty chain that operates in a number of countries, posted comparable store sales growth of 8.3 percent in the third quarter of 2011 and a particularly positive performance in the United States (+10.1 percent). Sunglass Hut’s results are reported under the Group’s Retail segment, which also includes results from its massive LensCrafters chain.
