Ray-Ban maker shines in Europe but lags in Asia
STORY: Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica reported solid growth in Europe on Thursday (February 23).
But Asia, particularly China, was not such a bright spot for the luxury eyewear maker late last year.
Overall revenue rose 9.4% to just under $6.5 billion in the fourth quarter.
The French-Italian group said its best performing regions were Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
It saw strong growth in France, Italy, Spain, the UK and Scandinavia.
In Europe, sales were up 6.2% to $2.2 billion.
But they were not so strong in the Asia-Pacific region, where growth ran at about half that rate.
The Oakley sunglasses maker blamed the health crisis in China for the underperformance.
It was a sharp contrast to its luxury rival Hermes.
Last week, it said wealthy Chinese clients had snapped up its products in the fourth quarter.
That helped it beat sales and margin forecasts.
EssilorLuxottica shares were down close to 4% by lunchtime on Thursday.
