EssilorLuxottica, the Franco-Italian company behind performance eyewear brands like Oakley and Bollé, announced it will raise prices across its US product lines in response to escalating import tariffs. The company, which sources products from Thailand, China and Europe, faces tariffs as high as 145 percent for China, 36 percent for Thailand, and up to 20 percent for European imports. “We’re not immune to tariffs,” said CEO Francesco Milleri, noting that 43 percent of EssilorLuxottica’s revenue comes from the US. He confirmed the price hikes will remain in the “single-digit territory” while the company works to diversify its supply chain.
Smart eyewear gains competitive ground
In contrast, Florida-based Innovative Eyewear Inc. is seizing the moment. The developer of Lucyd, Nautica and Reebok smart glasses reports a much lower 27.5 percent tariff rate on smart eyewear imports from China. CEO Harrison Gross pointed out that smart eyewear is approaching price parity with traditional frames due to the widening tariff gap. “As tariffs place excessive pressure on traditional eyewear […] the recent tariff exemption on Chinese electronics puts US smart eyewear companies in a strategic position,” Gross said.
US customs redefines “Made in” rules
Adding further complexity to pricing and sourcing strategies is a shift in US customs enforcement. As our sister publication Eyewear Intelligence reported, The Vision Council (TVC) warned that US customs has toughened its interpretation of the “substantial transformation” rule – the standard for determining a product’s country of origin. The agency is now scrutinizing whether assembly operations are “simple” or “meaningful,” aiming to maintain Chinese tariff applicability even if parts are assembled elsewhere.
Read Eyewear Intelligence’s full article here.
For instance, spectacle frames assembled in a third country using pre-cut components from China may no longer qualify for a non-China origin designation. “The customs agency is really aggressively looking not to find substantial transformations,” Rick Van Arnam, legal counsel for regulatory affairs at TVC, the nonprofit trade association for manufacturers and suppliers of the optical industry in the US, noted. This could undermine past supply chain strategies used to reduce tariff exposure.
Outlook: Uncertain and expensive
While EssilorLuxottica continues to project steady growth – targeting revenues of up to $31.7 billion by 2026 – industry dynamics are rapidly evolving. Smaller players may gain an edge if customs interpretations continue to favor tech-enabled products. Meanwhile, TVC and industry stakeholders urge policymakers to reconsider current tariff structures and support domestic manufacturing of vision-related medical devices.
As the eyewear industry adapts to geopolitical shifts and changing customs practices, pricing, sourcing and product strategy are increasingly intertwined – and unpredictable.
Image: Lucyd smart eyewear © Innovative Eyewear, Inc.
