Meta Considers Buying 5% Stake in Sunglass Maker EssilorLuxottica

Might Meta be transferring into the world of style?

I imply, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has actually made an effort to turn out to be extra trendy of late, and with its Ray Ban Tales glasses turning into a extra in-demand accent, it’s not so exhausting to think about a future the place Meta is also a style model in itself.

Properly, perhaps.

Late final week, The Wall Road Journal reported that Meta is in talks to amass a 5% stake in EssilorLuxottica, the corporate behind these very Ray Ban sun shades.

EssilorLuxottica, whom Meta has been working with on Ray Ban Tales for the previous few years, owns numerous style manufacturers, along with Ray Ban, together with Oakley and Sunglass Hut, and as such, the funding right here is seen as a way to fend off competitors within the accelerating wearable areas, by guaranteeing that Meta stays the one accomplice for EssilorLuxottica’s design IP and distribution.

In accordance with WSJ, the deal could be price round $US5 billion, including to Meta’s backside line for its metaverse improvement.

And that might be a sensible transfer. Meta says that demand for Ray Ban Tales is exceeding manufacturing capability, and with the corporate additionally seeking to showcase its absolutely AR enabled sun shades later this 12 months, securing its partnership with the sunglass maker may assist to solidify a key benefit, in making each practical and trendy units.

However there might also be one other factor to this proposed partnership which hasn’t been as broadly mentioned as but.

One other style model that EssilorLuxottica now owns is Supreme, the development main style model that’s gained huge traction by way of a variety of excessive profile clients.

EssilorLuxxotica acquired Supreme earlier this month, flagging a transfer into different areas of style, which may additionally play a component in Meta’s transfer to take up a stake within the firm.

In fact, the AR wearables angle is probably the most logical, and most quick partnership between the 2. However what if Meta additionally partnered with Supreme on restricted version style drops, facilitated solely on Fb and IG?

Would that assist to make Meta’s apps cool once more? It could actually deliver a crowd, and what if Meta regarded to launch a Supreme model of its Quest headset?

There’s a variety of how through which this might result in a broader style crossover between Meta and Supreme, along with its funding in the way forward for its AR glasses.

It’s all speculative proper now, with no official affirmation of Meta shopping for a stake within the firm. However you possibly can see a possible roadmap for a future ramping in direction of making Meta’s apps cool once more, with a longer-term view to constructing the metaverse into the vacation spot to nearly hang around.

As such, there might be extra at play right here than AR glasses alone, as Meta considers how to make sure that its future tasks stay the favored selection amongst youthful audiences.