Italian eyewear creator Safilo Group has announced the acquisition of a further 24.4 percent interest in Lenti S.r.l., a manufacturer of sun lenses based in Bergamo.
Safilo already owned a 75.6 percent interest in Lenti and has now expanded its ownership to 100 percent.
This acquisition reinforces Safilo’s position in lens manufacture, where the group “already plays an innovator role thanks to Polaroid, the inventor of the original polarized lenses, and the Smith Chroma Pop technology,” according to a press release.
With Lenti, the company says it is “in a position to use uniquely advanced processes and technology for the development and production of the state-of-the-art decorated lenses that are currently setting the trend for the most sought after fashion-luxury brands around the world.”
Lenti was founded in 1995 through the collaboration of several optical production specialists, led by Marco Negri and Safilo.
“Sun lenses are the new frontier ‘Beyond The Frame,’” said Luisa Delgado, CEO of Safilo Group. “They are an integral part and a unique differentiator for our most precious eyewear designs. With Lenti, we confirm our strategic commitment to sun lens innovation, research and development to exclusively creative lens designs with unique craftsmanship. We are excited about the industry leading research of our Lenti R&D team, and very happy to count on Marco’s continued expertise and contribution for this journey.”
Delgado added: “With this investment, we add another brick to the 2020 Global Supply Network Reinvention. As is happening at our other manufacturing sites, we are investing also here in people, tools, machinery and processes, to increase innovation, quality, capacity and to reduce time to market. It is our aim to serve more of our brands with our most cutting-edge, high design and decorative lenses.”