Essilor Launches Its First Media Campaign in China to Speed the Growth of Crizal® lens

Regulatory News:

Building on the success of media campaigns run in the United States, France and Brazil to strengthen the Crizal® brand, Essilor (Paris:EI) is launching its first consumer advertising campaign in China, which is the world’s biggest ophthalmic lens market in terms of volume.

Rolled out on various platforms, including TV, online and Focus Media, in six major Tier 2 Chinese cities, the campaign expresses the strengths of the Crizal® range through two key messages:

• A commercial designed to reinforce the Crizal® brand as the benchmark in transparent lenses delivering a full range of value-added features, such as anti-reflective, scratch-resistant, smudge-proof, hydrophobic and anti-static properties, thereby encouraging wearers to move upmarket.
• Another commercial, focused on the E-SPF index, aimed at educating consumers about how to protect themselves against the harmful effects of ultra-violet rays. As well as advertising the Crizal® UV range’s E-SPF 25 lenses, it will promote the sale of E-SPF factor 10, 15 and 25 lenses marketed under the Group’s other brands (Shamir, Nikon, Kodak) and by its partners in China.

The campaign is backed by a significantly higher consumer media budget for the Group’s flagship brands, including Crizal®, Transitions®, Varilux®, and Xperio®. The budget has been increased from €25 million in 2013 to €60 million in 2014¹, with €22 million earmarked for the Crizal® brand alone.

Primarily financed by synergies generated by the integration of Transitions Optical Inc., the planned funding will push the consumer media budget up to €125 million by 2016, making a powerful contribution to Essilor’s future growth and helping to consolidate its leadership.

About Essilor

The world's leading ophthalmic optics company, Essilor designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of lenses to improve and protect eyesight. Its corporate mission is to enable everyone around the world to access lenses that meet his or her unique vision requirements. To support this mission, the Company allocates more than €150 million to research and innovation every year, in a commitment to continuously bring new, more effective products to market. Essilor's flagship brands are Varilux®, Crizal®, Transitions, Definity®, Xperio®, OptifogTM, Foster Grant®, Bolon® and Costa®. It also develops and markets equipment, instruments and services for eyecare professionals. Essilor reported consolidated revenue of over €5 billion in 2013 and employs more than 55,000 people. It operates in some 100 countries with 28 plants, more than 450 prescription laboratories and edging facilities, as well as several research and innovation centers around the world. For more information, please visit www.essilor.com.
The Essilor share trades on the NYSE Euronext Paris market and is included in the Euro Stoxx 50 and CAC 40 indices.
Codes and symbols: ISIN: FR0000121667; Reuters: ESSI.PA; Bloomberg: EI:FP.

¹ Excluding the budget for the Transitions® brand