MILAN — On the heels of a strong performance in the first quarter of 2026, EssilorLuxottica is continuing its acquisition spree to strengthen its supply chain.
The French-Italian eyewear juggernaut said Thursday that it has acquired Faro, an Italian company specialized in the design, manufacturing and distribution of high-precision CNC machinery for milling and diamond cutting.
You May Also Like
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Related Articles
“Faro embodies the excellence of precision engineering and the core values of Made in Italy. By joining our group today, it further strengthens and completes our unique portfolio of expertise and manufacturing capabilities, while accelerating the development of innovative machinery for the production of frames and lenses across the entire industry,” said Francesco Milleri, chairman and chief executive officer at EssilorLuxottica.
“This transaction will also enable us to support Faro’s international growth while safeguarding its identity and distinctive know-how, to the benefit of all market players,” he added.
Established over 20 years ago in Santa Maria di Sala, outside Venice, Faro serves both the jewelry and eyewear industries, providing integrated, hardware-to-software solutions that expand the technological opportunities of those sectors. In eyewear manufacturing, it is mainly used for the production of frames.
The eyewear group has significantly strengthened its supply chain via M&A in recent years.
Last August, it revealed the acquisition of optical lens quality control player Automation & Robotics, following the earlier takeover of a division of the South Korean company PUcore, which specializes in the development, manufacturing and sale of monomers used in the production of ophthalmic lenses.
EssilorLuxottica’s acquisition spree has expanded also to med-tech, with several takeovers over the past two years. They include ophthalmology platform Optegra, which boasts 70 clinics, last May, followed in December by Signifeye, a Belgian ophthalmology platform that operates 15 eye care centers and clinics in the Flanders region; Italy-based Espansione Group, which specializes in the design and manufacturing of noninvasive medical devices; it nabbed an 80 percent stake in Heidelberg Engineering, a German company that is a specialist in diagnostic solutions, digital surgical technologies and health care IT for clinical ophthalmology, and took over Ikerian AG, a health technology company specializing in AI and data management for eye care, which operates under the RetinAI brand. Finally, earlier this month, it also acquired an undisclosed stake in Top Charoen, Thailand’s largest optical retail chain with over 2,000 stores across all regions of the country.
In addition to frames, lenses, medical instruments and science-backed eye care solutions, the EssilorLuxottica’s offer includes AI-powered innovative technologies and wearables, for which it has been ramping up its tech capabilities through acquisitions.
Last year the company introduced its Nuance Audio brand, a convergence of eyewear and hearing aid devices, and in January, it took over Pulse Audition, a French start-up that specializes in AI-powered noise reduction and voice sound enhancement to scale up its Nuance Audio technology.
The group established the dedicated Super Audio division in the summer of 2022 and finalized the acquisition six months later of Israeli company Nuance Hearing.
EssilorLuxottica’s revenues in the first quarter of 2026 were up 4.1 percent at current exchange rates to 7.12 billion euros. They jumped 10.8 percent at constant exchange rates, driven by the Europe, Middle East and Africa [EMEA] and North America regions and double-digit growth in the professional solutions and direct-to-consumer businesses.
In addition to its own brands ranging from Ray-Ban and Oakley to Persol, the group produces and distributes eyewear for brands spanning from Giorgio Armani, Brunello Cucinelli and Burberry to Chanel, Michael Kors, Moncler, Prada and Ralph Lauren, to name a few.