EssilorLuxottica controls 80%+ of eyewear brands, inflating frames 10-20x over cost

A single company, EssilorLuxottica, owns Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol, Oliver Peoples, Costa, Arnette, and dozens more brands while also owning LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sunglass Hut, Target Optical, and the second-largest vision insurance plan (EyeMed). This vertical integration means the same entity manufactures the frames, sells them in retail stores, and processes the insurance claims that pay for them. A pair of frames that costs $4-$15 to manufacture in China or Italy retails for $200-$600 at LensCrafters. The real pain hits when you realize this is not just expensive glasses -- it is a tax on seeing clearly. Over 160 million Americans need corrective lenses. When a family of four needs new glasses and each pair costs $300-$500 after insurance, that is $1,200-$2,000 out of pocket. For a household earning $50,000/year, that is 2-4% of pre-tax income just to see. People delay replacing broken or outdated prescriptions because of the cost, which leads to headaches, eye strain, reduced productivity, and in some cases dangerous situations like driving with an outdated prescription. This persists because EssilorLuxottica's monopoly is self-reinforcing. They acquired Essilor (the world's largest lens manufacturer) in 2018, combining lens and frame dominance. Independent opticians who try to offer cheaper alternatives still need Essilor lenses, so margins stay thin. The FTC approved the merger with minimal conditions. Competitors like Warby Parker have chipped away at the edges, but EssilorLuxottica's control of physical retail locations, insurance networks, and brand portfolios creates barriers that no single startup can overcome. The company reported over 25 billion euros in revenue in 2023, and its market cap exceeds 90 billion euros -- a scale that makes meaningful competition nearly impossible without regulatory intervention that shows no sign of coming.