Ray-Ban maker accused in lawsuit of inflating prices 1,000%
THE French-Italian owner of the Ray-Ban and Oakley eyewear brands was sued for allegedly scheming with competitors to inflate prices by as much as 1,000 per cent.
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 and For Eyes Optical, among others, according to the consumer antitrust complaint filed Friday in San Francisco federal court as a proposed class action.
The complaint also alleges that EssilorLuxottica’s vision benefits subsidiary, EyeMed, has formed anti-competitive agreements with thousands of eye care providers to “channel millions of consumers into purchasing the conglomerate’s over-priced eyewear.”
The consumers claim the unlawful collusion was concealed by an arrangement between the companies to keep the terms of their agreements from being publicly disclosed.
EssilorLuxottica did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
About 20 other luxury eyewear makers were also named as defendants in the suit.
The case is Fathmath v. EssilorLuxottica S.A., 23-cv-3626, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco). BLOOMBERG
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