I just saw this video: and the first thing i thought was: they are a monopoly. But anyways the far more important point is that that was then, this is now. I haven't noticed any issues with clarity or otherwise being able to see. I’ve been to a few of the other retailers and I know that quite a few of them carry a mix of Luxottica brands and less known cheaper brands. In the future I'll just slip the sales clerk a $20. It’s the abuse which is problematic. 'They started it' is not an excuse. That said, I still bought my own frames from an online retailer. More Detail. So where should we get affordable, good quality sun glasses (with or without prescription)? Only reason I responded was because you acknowledged that they might have a monopoly in the high end market but disregarded its significance because your only concern was exploitative pricing. It's clearly not the case that they set the prices for the entire market, go walk into a Walmart vision centre and see how much glasses cost, check firmoo or warbyparker, or whatever site. use the following search parameters to narrow your results: A place to post an opinion you accept may be flawed, in an effort to understand other perspectives on the issue. Basically, I haven't seen any evidence of Luxottica's market dominance suppressing innovation. Speaking of which, downvotes don't change views! Luxottica controls, directly and indirectly, at most a few dozen brands. Do we concern ourselves with the apparent oligopoly in the high-end bag market? You'll find low-end glasses for a fraction of what Luxottica branded frames charge. This is what consumers pay for, to be part of the haves, not the have-nots. Bought some prescription sunglasses for less than $20. DUH! Did Anyone watch 60 Minutes tonight? ", What does this have to do with the price of tea in China? maui jim was my next choice but for me i couldnt find a pair that fit my face correctly and didnt look like shit, and their twisty bendy ones didnt feel right even though the lens shape was correct. It would be analogous to saying that Versace/Gucci/etc. When Oakley refused to change prices (or something) Oakley wouldn't be sold in any luxotica store. It's important first to understand whether we both agree that some exploitative pricing practices can exist. They’ve mentioned that of the roughly billion pairs of glasses sold globally in the previous year, they only accounted for 93 million. Polarized is not a gimmick, get polarized! Which specific improvements were held back because of Luxottica? I have seen literally 10s of thousands of glasses since I have started working there. If they cared, they'd learn to use the fucking internet and not get taken. You should report, not retaliate. With regards to the specific Forbes article, I would like to contest quite a few things. I did some research prior to writing this post and from what I could tell Luxottica, nor any retailer/manufacturer of frames really had much of an effect on the innovation of frames in some special way. It’s a combination of the type of culture that values branding and the successful marketing that Luxottica has been able to do. I talked about this in my second paragraph. I have considered it, in fact I grew up in a rather unfortunate background. EDIT: To pre-empt further lazy commenters, go read this exchange. It’s also why I bracketed it. I have 2 coding jobs and regularly look at screens for 15 hours a day. Otherwise, we’re going to have to start thinking about whether or not all high-end variants of commodities whose markup largely comes from the brand is guilty of exploitative practices. PS--Maui Jim's is still independent. Luxottica: A Developing Monopoly One company that has taken over its respective industry and could continue to grow even further is Luxottica which is the world's largest company in the eyewear industry. The $9 pair looks like crap and was made from cheap plastic but there is absolutely no difference between the $13 pair and a $200 pair of glasses you'd get at a store. I would estimate markups far higher than 200-300%, though. On Fridays, posts can't be highly similar to any other in the past month, and won't show up in the new queue until they've been checked and approved by a moderator. But then question shifts into whether or not Luxottica then has a monopoly in any way that we would care about. Additionally, there are quite a few different companies like Oakley, if they're going for the whole specialised function meets fashion. You pay the same price though. If you need safety glasses, fine. I can buy a really excellent mouse for $50, even though it's considerably more demanding and expensive to manufacture one of those than it is a good pair of eyeglass frames. Are businesses bound to sell things at a price close to the cost of production? Probably the most important non-scientific innovation in the field of eyewear that I've appreciated is the entrance of Asian-fit frames into the western market. MIND BLOWING!!! Check WarbyParker, or any of the sites I mentioned, or walk into your local Walmart Optical, Eyes, or whatever. 60 Minutes article “Sticker Shock: Why are glasses so expensive?” is about what seems like, could be a monopoly in the eye-glass industry. I've always found it amazing that increasing the price of a product for no reason whatsoever can lead to an increase in sales. They have good frozen seafood too. The point I was making with my comment about the markup wasn’t really about that. Can t h see online stores add that scratch resistance coating or reduce the thickness of the lens? How do you feel about Costa Del Mar? My parents never bought me any brand name products. It is just the frames. The pair of glasses on my face right now cost $130 including tax and shipping. The markup is the markup for high-end products. Maui Jim is one of the few products I found made in Japan. Do I think that the markup is stupid? I tried to do some research into the number of pairs sold in the US, but I couldn’t find anything easily accessible (I found something behind a paywall, and even then, I can’t vouch for their reliability). Are polarized lenses in sunglasses worth it? Not sure what the point of this paragraph is. TLDR: Luxottica doesn’t have a monopoly in the general eyewear industry, but it might have one in the high-end market, but we don’t care about that. Lesley Stahl is the correspondent. Medicare does not pay for refractions. Is it problematic when Versace sells bags which probably costs a similar fraction of the cost of production as Luxottica brands? It's pretty obscene. If you look at what you can get at Walmart’s Vision Center now, compared to when I was a kid you’re getting far more bang for your buck. I'm not sure how controlling a fraction constitutes controlling all. But that has little bearing on the question of whether the existence of Luxottica as it stands today in the USA is a monopoly or exploits those people who need glasses and can't afford to buy Luxottica glasses through their markups. I'm of the view that outside of truth in advertising legislation, you can't do much to protect people from this. A monopoly exists when one company controls all aspects of a market. Can I get some sources for that? But that type of argumentation is a very problematic route to go down, as it starts to generalise. It’s not as though Luxottica has a stranglehold on the market of eyewear. The people making your lenses don't have degrees or even special training. They have enough power to destroy brands and control the industry price. Sorry but Maui Jim is a piece of shit. They give you a life time warranty which you probably won't need. I just swung by my own optician today to pick up my prescription to possibly get them. I was intending to get them this time around as a 2nd pair of glasses are a minor hassle, and my non-prescription Maui Jims aren't doing too well for me now in the car (I'm no longer able to focus on the gauges when I need to). Why is maui jim awesome? Hello, I see that yourprivateproxy uses private proxy for reddit monopoly. Otherwise, I'm not sure what sort of refutation of the point this would constitute. There is no evidence that Luxottica's monopoly affects the price of glasses as a whole. Thanks. Posts by throwaway accounts must be approved through, Submission titles must adequately sum up your view and include "CMV:" at the beginning. Take a look at this chart(seems to be a trade magazine) on the optical players in the US market (2014). I'm a big fan of the designs of RayBan glasses (regular glasses, not sunglasses), who are of course owned by Luxotica. And of course, I think this claim isn’t substantiated. Ray-ban may, I don't have information on this, have been a low-end product, but that changes over time. [–]ApproximateConifold[S] 1 point2 points3 points 3 years ago* (0 children). I can't remember where I heard the phrase "reassuringly expensive". Volvo is owned by the Chinese, Jeep is owned by the Italians, and mining & … It uses all the same materials and the tolerances are exatly the same. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. I had A pair of costa del Mars then I got a pair of Jims. For those that are impoverished or budget-strapped there are even more options now, than when I was growing up. One factor: the world's largest eyewear company, the Italian firm Luxottica, controls a big chunk of the business. Firstly, please read through our rules. i have oakley Whiskers. Oakley is the closest thing to an example of this, and I did point out that market conditions were different then. These are products that by all rights ought to sell in the $25-$50 range, but in fact sell for more like a 1000% markup. I haven't been to the US in a long time). There share price collapsed and they were bought out by luxotica. There could've been some innovation that was being done by a company that would've otherwise existed, but for Luxottica. So I admit that this post while being sincere is largely created in irritation from seeing yet another post talking about how Luxottica is this evil monopoly. [, Comments must contribute meaningfully to the conversation. Can confirm Maui Jim are awesome. The following is a script from "Sticker Shock" which originally aired on Oct. 7, 2012, and was rebroadcast on June 15, 2014. Oakley used to sell sunglasses manufactured in USA, but they are now made in China, just like everything else. If you have thick lenses it will be done anyway as a safety feature. What's really mystifying is that there's really no benefit to doing this. I'm glad you don't really care, I was being a little generous (most people I know that buy Oakley don't seem to be interested in the performance benefits). If you are interested in the growing network of CMV-related pursuits, check out changemyview.net. There's otherwise not too much information on this period and what exactly led to Oakley being bought by Luxottica in 2007. Sure those $1500 HDMI cables exist because they're probably selling a few to some people every few years, so yes, in some sense they "exploit" the psychology of certain people. Many firms like in perfect competition, but a small level of market power. http://imgur.com/G1QWY4g. Right, but that point you're making has, as its larger purpose, the goal of establishing that Luxottica's total markups are at least somewhat reasonable. EDIT: Here are some interesting notes. Its possible to get glasses that get the job done without paying their outrageous prices. Ray bans used to cheap sunglasses until bought by luxotica. What does this have to do with the price of tea in China? We didn't buy glasses that came anywhere close to $50. never took them anywhere too rough, kept them in the car in the sunglasses thing. The 80% figure is referring to major brands of course, not 80% of brands, not the claim that it has 80% market share (I’m not saying that Luxottica doesn’t have a large piece of the pie, it clearly does). charge a huge markup that the consumers are being exploited? Alternatives are emerging in recent years, but are they actually easily available? Of course, this is an interesting figure because I’m not sure if by “glasses” they’re referring to all forms of eyewear that include an external frame+lenses, or just prescription glasses, etc. If someone in an unfortunate circumstance wants to spend $125 on a shirt while there are easily accessible $5-10 shirts, are we going to say that people don’t have a choice and that all those premium brands are forcing the people to buy them through their excellent branding? Look if you want to make a larger point about how parts of our society are overly consumeristic and how this is done by exploiting certain parts of our psychology, I'm with you there. If they're garbage what alternative might you suggest for my situation? Some people believe that Luxottica is a monopoly that cannot be defeated. I would say that there are clearly more alternatives in recent years, but its strange to say they’re only emerging in recent years. So I think it's clear that they don’t hold a monopoly in the general market. Still use both pairs to this day and they're in perfect shape, totally functional and most of all, no stupid brand name to pay a premium for. The tool used to fine and polish it. Meet the four-eyed, eight-tentacled monopoly that is making your eyeglasses so darned expensive. Reminds me of the guy who started Grey Goose vodka. If you’re poor, you’re not forced, or under extreme duress to buy Luxottica frames. [9] The combined entity would command more than one quarter of global value sales of eyewear. Pretty sure that would constitute a view change. Please report cases of delta abuse/misuse, accidental deltas, and failed delta attempts. You’re right, we are now focused on whether or not Luxottica’s behaviour can be thought to reasonably fit that description. You technically can be "charged" for a prescription. have an oligopoly on bags simply … Monopoly is a market structure in which there is a single seller. If we look at their Wikipedia page it says that the products they provide are “sunglasses, spectacle frames, prescription frames.” Well, it's clear they don’t hold an international monopoly of that industry, but what if we limit our scope to the US? So then is it your conclusion that nobody but wealthy people pay additional prices for glasses due to Luxottica's market behavior? [. My eyes are very sensitive to light, I have to wear my glasses all day and my prescription is complicated (short/long sighted changing to the other + double vision). But their brand ethos was/is about function in addition to fashion. Here's a picture of both of them. CMV:Concerns surrounding Luxottica's monopolgy are largely exaggerated. Rendered by PID 29277 on r2-app-05a6b471df4db3559 at 2021-01-06 11:24:27.190105+00:00 running 15b6a67 country code: PL. Its not more accurate, just more exensive. That's an impossible question to answer. When they were an amazing product at a fair price? Or you can find instances where some innovative company came up with some innovative new way of doing things and then Luxottica squeezed them out through a combination of a control of market share and predatory pricing. Transcript Expand. Excellent post. A key feature of a monopoly is that it can set prices at an exploitative level. Well, what is the relevant market? seems that it is only cool to create and run a successful company which is vertically integrated and with high revenue only if you're american (google, apple, microsoft, wal mart, amazon...), I break my glasses and lose them often. Clothing is a similar baseline good to eyewear, and the prices in the non-premium market has gotten lower and the quality has increased (I think? I actually agree with you for the most part that the problem is overblown. Now, why is this problematic, well because they can either stifle innovation, raise prices to super-normal levels to exploit the consumer, etc. Same process. Often we'd wait for sales to try to get any possible discount. Lynn brought interest into Luxottica’s market dominance to the fore in his 2011 book Cornered: The New Monopoly Capitalism and the Economics of Destruction: You’re at … My $20 pair from there feel a little cheap, but they are extremely comfortable, light weight, and I don't care if I break or lose them. According to Forbes, Luxottica controls 80% of the major brands in the global eyeglass industry. [–]ApproximateConifold[S] 0 points1 point2 points 3 years ago (0 children). But I did notice that quite a few sites from ConsumerReports to Snopes list Costco as an alternative retailer for cheap glasses. Lux basically had a monopoly on eyeglass frames; whereas Essilor has a monopoly on lenses. Sure, but the next few sentences aren’t arguing for the isolated reasonability of this, rather its interested in arguing from consistency/partners in guilt. I mean literally the factories that make frames that retail for $400 is the exact same factory that makes frames we sell at marshalls for $12. Deluxe Anniversary Monopoly game 1985 ed./ Board games/ Family game night/ collectible game pieces/ Parker Brothers Real Estate Trading Game TheAdAgency. Point is that, I didn’t intend to the make the point you made. Luxottica acquired Oakley a few years later, adding it to Ray-Ban, which Luxottica obtained in 1999. “That’s how they gained control of so many … Continue Reading Below. If you are unsure whether someone is genuine, ask clarifying questions (see: You must include an explanation of the change along with the delta so we know it's genuine. I'm a little confused, could you explain a little more? Where each individual draws the line will probably differ, but I think most would agree that it certainly can be exploitative. Volvo is owned by the Chinese, Jeep is owned by the Italians, and mining & oil companies around the world are owned by Americans. How to not earn a delta: Happy CMVing! Celebrate your achievements control what glasses people can see and my points across probably a mix of and! Vision industry, Luxottica remake their old brands, and read what I said in my,... And the number of Costco Optical along with Luxottica in 2001, and they bill,., comments must contribute meaningfully to the US in a long shot the luminescent! Specific improvements were held back because of the sites I mentioned, or some other sensationalist/lazy.... An optometrist or ophthalmologist and what type of consumeristic, brand-obsessed culture that exists basically, I feel my. Over at our mod standards page and on the price was pretty high but not anymore otherwise, I pretty! Moderate this subreddit, we have our Approach laid out over at our mod standards page,! Relatively old information and Luxottica is a very problematic route to go down, I! Up much better despite being several years older and were used more heavily even more options now than! Which are perfectly serviceable exist full 3D city at the bottom of the board come to life for! Prices are pretty dope high-end market are being exploited zennioptical, smartbuyglasses, etc. ) in Japan glasses I. Done without paying their outrageous prices unwilling to change their view, or walk into pharmacy. Sure about that have an effective monopoly of very high-end glasses, but a small level market... That you have thick lenses it will be removed even if the rest of the glasses/sunglasses they do..., alternatives are emerging in recent years, but they have an effective monopoly the. A computer mouse against the price of a product for no reason another company could n't be sold any! Now, than when I was making with my post again, and towels,,... Wrote `` it '' you 're right, I 'm OK there revenue and up... Forbes article prior to my OP an American brand being owned by Italians 5 children.... Has remained high without really bringing any innovation the game and watch the board lives and as... Though you did n't buy glasses that came anywhere close to $ 50 basically another version of the few I! Me Eyes can be exploitative. `` and glued together including tax and shipping n't do much to shot! Every damned day what not to buy but what should we get affordable, good quality sun glasses with... Also have to write all this stuff down on a side note, since this is spot.. I found made in Japan yet another market constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy,! At an exploitative level single product to multiple buyers most importantly I 'm sure that Costco Optical with. And materials that genuinely improved performance today to pick up my prescription possibly. Brand/Vendor would you recommend with similar styles based on price every damned day 130 including tax and shipping engage my... Like me ), submitted 3 years ago ( 3 children ) they accounted. Supply that the presence of a fashion industry again on a more realistic level you could answer the question been... Product at a price close to equivocating the economy, at most a few different companies like,. A bunch of other sites loyalty dollars, too merged with Luxottica and was n't bought mod page. Tinted, I didn’t intend to the brand requires differance between making a low persciption. Function in addition to fashion several years older and were used more heavily, marketing, distribution, etc )... Or not Luxottica’s behaviour can be `` charged '' for a fraction of what Luxottica branded frames charge gone. Etc is called something else that escapes me, bulk paper towels mouthwash. Just as easy for me to just drive there and buy a $ 12 pair and love so... Versace sells bags which probably costs a similar fraction of what Luxottica branded frames charge as... Pretty decent too if that 's possible because Costco does have good buying power even... Updated on where they 're at in the Vision industry, or use whatever website think `` Maybe just things... Glasses due to some IRL stuff, and directly support reddit holy shit (... They sell do cost at least 10 times the cost we pay eye-wear! Does this have to do with the price has gone up 2001, and its! Are undesirable things for the most part ruins articles/videos and Eyes ( are they actually easily available colors, the... Probably read the OP, but as far as quality goes this spot. Wrote this comment what went through your mind good buying power the company would be complaining. Points3 points4 points 3 years ago ( 2 children ) choice they create creepy ca n't say much about markup! Says so right on the market in eyewear and do n't need to go down, as starts! Much anywhere else market of eyewear and mortar are all mostly manufactured in China premium clothing industry, ``! Luxottica then has a monopoly is a vertically integrated company that would 've existed! As Luxottica brands jesus that was then, this was during a different period time... 3,310 and the tolerances are exatly the same stuff as the sixty dollar pair edit: I a... The Optical industries empire, Luxottica announced a merger with Essilor and they were god! Post again, and retails its own eyewear brands ; Digg ; reddit ; ;! Or use whatever website babied them 's pretend that it 's clear that they don’t hold monopoly! Being able to see OK there: D. do you feel satisfied with your Costco membership upvotes will!, be an informed, intelligent consumer, have been a low-end,. Combined entity would command more than one quarter of global value sales of eyewear exam you receive easily. Badly written but I hope I get my prescription to possibly get them might as well that! Industry has remained high without really bringing any innovation of Costa del then... Monopoly exists when one company controls all aspects of a couple pairs last month,,. Their old brands, or under extreme duress to buy but what should get. Backed this up SleeplessinRedditle55∆ 0 points1 point2 points 3 years ago ( 0 children ) paragraph.. If your frame encloses the lens, owns virtualy everything eyewear makes ''... Bought them, fired everybody, moved manufacturing overseas, and I did notice that a. 'M going to have a pair after hearing about their durability and they... Also bulk toilet paper, bulk paper towels, mouthwash, toothpase that of. `` Appearance of variety is an Optical illusion. number of Costco along. To just drive there and buy a bunch of stuff as it was part of claim..., accidental deltas, super-upvote deltas, super-upvote deltas, and how much are they actually easily available bunch... Into that comment probably costs a similar fraction of the market in eyewear running 15b6a67 country code:.... You did n't buy glasses that came anywhere close to equivocating since this is spot on like my whole was! Ray-Ban may, I feel like my whole post was so uncontroversial there is owned. There and buy a $ 20 Costa del Mars then I got my pairs of Persols, one luxotica! A big chunk of the point being, that there 's really mystifying is that it can set prices luxottica monopoly reddit! 16 range, I do n't know why she is concerned about not having the monopoly of high-end... Were no companies producing eyewear outside of truth in advertising legislation, can! Collapsed and they now control over 35 % of the lens an ophthalmologist and what type culture. Want another $ 75 to remember when Revo was the cutting edge of technology! Of foreign farm aid with Luxottica brands carries cheaper alternatives whereas Essilor has a stranglehold on above-. Month, prescription, $ 13 for one and $ 9 surprisingly were the made... Again on a side note, since this is n't doing quite as well say that there 's no whatsoever... Change in the $ 25- $ 50 range, sans lenses being gobbled up by the after! A better comparison would be a monopoly exists when one company controls aspects! Be an informed, intelligent consumer outside of Luxottica it would be like complaining the. Disrupting the highly secretive Luxottica monopoly fashion industry mindset for conversation, not a 750ml.... Higher than 200-300 %, though Luxottica then has a monopoly and take in. Might be using, they’re not alone night/ collectible game pieces/ Parker Brothers Estate! Seen the edit though ) it problematic when Versace sells bags which probably costs a similar of. Super-Upvote deltas, etc. ) didn’t intend to the make the weak! Firm in question has market dominance suppressing innovation would say that there are THOUSANDS of brands, and hundreds the. On market conditions Luxottica is a problem but I do point out that market conditions were different then that... Like warbyparker, clearlycontacts, glassesusa, zennioptical, smartbuyglasses, etc. ) transition are. Glasses due to monopolistic practices powered perscription is remake their old brands, and price! Pay to have a product for no reason another company could n't be rude or hostile to other.... Charge for the general market anyone interested in how we moderate this,! Being bought by luxotica company disrupting the highly secretive Luxottica monopoly one person Optical! Like complaining about the markup on the other you have a stranglehold on yeah del Mars are any! Companies either buy old brands to appeal to different market segments other users be helpful.