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The big names in Italian eyewear – Luxottica, Safilo, De Rigo, Marcolin – are well known in our country and around the world. What is perhaps least known are the data on the supply chain as a whole. As recalled by the industry association Anfao, Italy is the leading manufacturer and exporter of sunglasses and frames at European level and is second only to China in the world, which however caters to different segments of the market. In the high range, Italy is the world‘s leading manufacturer and exporter of sunglasses and frames. A success made possible by the supply chain born around the big names in the sector and almost entirely concentrated in the Veneto district of Belluno.
The “silent” world leader in the supply chain is Visottica of Susegana (Treviso), specialized in the production of eyewear components, which has just published its 2022 consolidated financial statements, closing with a turnover of 98 million, up 14% compared to the 86 million of 2021. The figure benefits from the revenues of the company Ethos, specialized in galvanic processes, acquired in 2021 and consolidated in 2022, but does not yet include the turnover of Ideal, acquired in April 2023 and active in the engineering and production of components for eyewear sector based in Quero (Belluno).
The policy of targeted acquisitions of technologically complementary companies, accompanied by an organic development of the business, led to a 50% growth compared to 2019, when revenues had reached 64 million. In the last four years, global employees have grown from 1,080 in 2019 to the current 1,300, distributed in seven production plants – six of which in Italy and one in China, dedicated to production for the Asian market -, five sales offices and a trading company based in Hong Kong. «2022 was a fundamental year, in which the integration process of the companies acquired in previous years was consolidated – underlines Rinaldo Montalban, president of Visottica Group -. Touching the threshold of 100 million in revenues was an unthinkable goal until a few years ago, taking into account the difficulties associated with the pandemic and international tensions”.
The growth concerns not only the production for the eyewear sector, but also the other sectors in which Visottica is investing. «Also in 2023 we will continue on the path of expansion and diversification of the business, to offer an increasingly complete service to our customers and partners, exploring new functional opportunities for our strategic development», concludes Montalban.