Behind the Frames: How EssilorLuxottica Orchestrates Global Growth With Local Insight

In the eyewear business, global brand, local soul isn’t a slogan, it’s a structural necessity.
Few industries show more clearly how strategy, regulation, and culture intertwine than eyewear.
Frames are fashion. Lenses are medical. Distribution models are a chessboard of franchisees, joint ventures, and direct subsidiaries.

EssilorLuxottica, the world’s leading eyewear group, grew from its deep roots in Italy and France before reaching customers around the world.. Its story in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa shows how category logic, local regulation, and partnerships shape the road to globalization. And, most importantly, how going global is never about copy-pasting, but orchestrating.

Let the Market Shape the Model

Over 25 years ago, when the company looked at the Middle East and Africa, volatility was high, currencies unstable, and regulations opaque. The Frames legacy group generally chose a low-risk export model: distributing directly from Italy through trusted partners, with no local subsidiary. It was the right decision for a region considered unpredictable.

But as political and economic stability grew, EssilorLuxottica adapted. It opened its first subsidiary in South Africa, then the UAE and Turkey followed shortly after, creating a dual structure: still working with distributors in some markets, but beginning to serve independents and key accounts directly in others.

In contrast, the lenses legacy group traditionally adopted a more flexible approach to market entry and exit, reflecting the nature of its business in essential vision care. For instance, in Turkey—where currency devaluation and capital controls had severely constrained operations—the company decided to close its subsidiary in 2001, only to reestablish it in 2012 once economic conditions stabilized and access to the market for critical optical products improved.

Behind these choices sits a clear strategic logic. Political and legal realities often dictate which model is even possible. In the Gulf, foreign companies wishing to run physical retail outlets cannot do so directly from free zones; they must establish an onshore entity with a local partner. Consequently, joint ventures and franchise models often become the most viable — and sometimes legally required — paths to market entry.

this business, there is no “best model”, only the one that fit the best the local market.

Mix the Models, Then Orchestrate

Once you accept that no single model fits all, the challenge becomes orchestration.

EssilorLuxottica operates a portfolio of entry modes: distributors, franchisees, joint ventures, and fully owned subsidiaries; often in parallel within the same country. Each serves a different purpose.

Distributors allow fast entry and immediate access to retail gatekeepers. They know import regulations, absorb credit risk, and accelerate speed to market. But they also come with trade-offs: it is harder to control how the brand is displayed or experienced at the point of sale.

Direct subsidiaries offer control of brand expression, wholesale pricing, and consumer experience but require investment, compliance, and operational maturity.

Franchising sits in the middle: it enables rapid expansion with limited capital exposure, preserving brand discipline through detailed playbooks.

In many markets, EssilorLuxottica layers these modes intentionally. It may run its own retail under the Sunglass Hut or Oakley banner with a franchisee partner, operate joint ventures for Ray-Ban, and still rely on distributors in less stable territories.

The strategy is not to replicate a model everywhere, but to conduct an orchestra ensuring every channel plays in harmony with the brand.

Bring headquarters along on the journey

In many multinationals, “localization” means adapting to consumers.
At EssilorLuxottica, especially in the Middle East, it also meant bridging perspectives with headquarters to align global strategy to local realities

Global teams often arrive with assumptions built on what worked elsewhere: successful campaigns in Europe or the U.S. that are expected to replicate results in every market.
But in reality, some regions operate on completely different cultural dynamics. So, sometimes, “we didn’t just have to engage and inform consumers — we also had to bring headquarters along on the journey.”

When the team tried to roll out global creative assets locally, they quickly ran into a wall of “don’ts” that came from both regulation and culture.

“At one point,” Jessica remembers, “we sent a deck from headquarters listing what we couldn’t show in the Middle East: no nudity, no touching, no tattoos, no piercings, no homosexuality… basically everything that made the Ray-Ban campaign cool in Europe was off-limits for us.”

The solution wasn’t rebellion, it was translation with meaning.
Through persistent dialogue and data, the regional team built the case for MENA-specific campaigns: adapted visuals, retouched assets, and eventually new creative shot entirely for the region.

The breakthrough came when headquarters began to see local input not as constraint, but as insights and opportunity. Over time, the balance shifted: global creative teams together with local teams started designing for the Middle East rather than merely approving exceptions.

It became a story of bottom-up globalization, where local understanding reshapes global practice, proving that sometimes the most valuable education travels upward, not downward.

Copy-Paste Kills; Curate and Fit Win

Many global brands stumble when they enter new markets with “plug-and-play” strategies.

Marks & Spencer tried to replicate its UK food concept in a region built on home cooking and family dining.
Department stores like Debenhams and Harvey Nichols once dominated the luxury landscape, but they are losing relevance as Middle Eastern shoppers began seeking deeper, more immersive mono-brand experiences. When people could step into a full Chanel or Gucci world, the multi-brand floor simply felt flat

Even local success stories can misread the room. After the triumph of Level Shoes, Dubai’s most celebrated luxury concept, the group launched Level Kids, a three-story temple of children’s fashion, complete with restaurants and play spaces.
It flopped.

Why? Because it misunderstood the role of luxury shopping in the region. For many parents, that moment is me time: a space for self-expression, not another family errand. They might buy for their children while shopping for themselves, but they won’t plan a separate trip for kids’ fashion.

Even perfect execution fails when it answers the wrong behavior.

The lesson is simple: localization isn’t about transplanting what worked elsewhere; it’s about designing for the local “rhythm”: format, behavior, and emotion.

When Categories Evolve, Channels Multiply

The eyewear category itself is transforming.
Smart glasses, hearing-enhancing frames, and AI-powered wearables are turning fashion accessories into tech devices. Selling these requires new retail expertise, training in audiology, and awareness of country-level regulations (prescription vs. over-the-counter).

Every new product category forces the company to redraw its go-to-market architecture adding layers of coordination between technology, retail, and regulation.
As Jessica puts it,

“In our case, new categories don’t just grow the pie, they redraw the plate.”

Omnichannel Is an Organization, Not a Buzzword

In many companies, “omnichannel” remains a marketing phrase.
For EssilorLuxottica, it’s an organizational design challenge.

The Middle East has historically lagged in omnichannel maturity, mainly due to fragmented logistics and complex retail ownership structures.
The company’s response was to build its own e-commerce backbone, managed locally but aligned globally.

Each market runs differently:

• Some e-commerce sites are direct.
• Others are joint ventures (for example, Ray-Ban online stores linked to local partners).
• Franchise markets run their online presence through franchisees.

In other words, the online structure mirrors offline complexity. The role of Commercial Excellence is to connect these dots, ensuring that assortment, and service standards remain consistent, regardless of who owns the channel.

Omnichannel, in this view, isn’t about platforms, it’s about governance and orchestration.

Choose Control Where It Matters Most

Global expansion always comes down to a delicate equation: control versus partnership.
EssilorLuxottica’s experience shows that control should be selective, focused where it protects the brand or ensures proximity to the consumer.

Partnerships, on the other hand, add value where speed, access, or local legitimacy are critical from navigating regulations to securing space in premium malls.

The art lies in knowing when to lead and when to lean.

Measure the Market, Then Move the Mix

Market selection isn’t about chasing every opportunity; it’s about calibrating between value and efficiency.
EssilorLuxottica evaluates purchasing power, accessibility, competition, brand fit, and emotional barriers to define its market mix, shifting focus as conditions evolve.

Expansion, in this sense, is not an act of conquest but of composition: a portfolio that’s constantly tuned for yield and resilience.

From Volatility to Velocity: Lessons for Every Industry

Eyewear and Vision care may be unique, but its lessons travel far.

From EssilorLuxottica’s journey, marketers and strategists can learn that global expansion is less about the boldness to enter and more about the discipline to orchestrate.

It teaches that:

• The market defines the model.
• Success lies in the mix.

• Bring headquarters along on the journey.
• Curation beats replication.
• Innovation redraws distribution.
• Omnichannel is governance, not jargon.
• Control where it matters most.
• And success is measured not by scale alone, but by how smartly you scale.

EssilorLuxottica’s evolution in the region from volatility to velocity shows that true global growth doesn’t come from perfect control or perfect localization but from mastering the tension between the two. Because in the end, the real challenge isn’t choosing between global and local, it’s conducting them in harmony

About the authors:

Matteo Rinaldi is adjunct professor at Luiss Business School and Senior Marketing Strategy Consultant and Co-Founder of Human Centric Group, with global experience driving double-digit growth for brands like Danone, Carlsberg, Revlon, PepsiCo, and Visa. Having worked across multiple continents, he specializes in leveraging cultural insights for impactful brand strategies. A passionate educator, Matteo teaches marketing worldwide, shaping future industry leaders. Previously, he worked with L’Oréal and Coca-Cola HBC. He is also a best-selling author in marketing.

Jessica Abouzeid is Head of Commercial Excellence & Business Development for EssilorLuxottica Middle East, Turkey & Africa. With over 15 years in the group, she has held regional leadership roles spanning marketing, category development, key account management and commercial transformation. She specializes in translating global strategies into locally relevant growth models and collaborates with universities to design and deliver executive short courses on go-to-market excellence, post-merger integration, and leadership in complex regional ecosystems.