French-Italian owner of the Ray-Ban and Oakley eyewear companies, EssilorLuxottica, was sued for allegedly conspiring with competitors to increase prices by up to 1,000%. EssilorLuxottica is a global eyewear conglomerate formed by the merger of Essilor and Luxottica, dominating the optical industry.
According to the consumer antitrust complaint filed Friday in San Francisco federal court as a proposed class action, Paris-based EssilorLuxottica SA, the world’s largest eyewear company, is the “instigator and primary enforcer” of the price-fixing scheme in the US market, forming illegal agreements with Frames for America Inc. and For Eyes Optical Co., among others.
The case also claims that EssilorLuxottica’s vision benefits subsidiary, EyeMed, has negotiated anticompetitive agreements with thousands of eyecare professionals in order to “channel millions of consumers into purchasing the conglomerate’s over-priced eyewear.” The consumers say that the illegal coordination was concealed by an agreement between the corporations to keep the nature of their agreements secret.
EssilorLuxottica did not respond quickly to an email seeking comment. The action also cited approximately 20 other luxury eyeglasses manufacturers as defendants. Fathmath v. EssilorLuxottica S.A., 23-cv-3626, United States District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco). The consumers say that the illegal coordination was concealed by an agreement between the corporations to keep the nature of their agreements secret.