Montblanc concludes partnership with Marcolin and joins Kering Eyewear

Kering Eyewear signed a new licensing agreement with the luxury group Richemont. The Swiss giant, which took 30% in March 2017 in the Kering subsidiary based in Padua, northern Italy, has chosen to entrust the glbades brand Montblanc.

With this contract, which covers the development, production and worldwide distribution of ophthalmic and solar glbades from Montblanc, the brand of the Richemont group puts an end to a 17 years old badociation with Marcolin.

"The purpose of this collaboration is to transcend the limits of design and to think of innovative ways to develop frameworks to attract successful urban nomads and millennial adventurers who identify with ethics. Montetz, CEO of the brand, explains Montblanc and the values ​​of the brand Roberto Vedovotto, president of Kering Eyewear, said: "We are very proud to announce this new partnership that strengthens our relationship with our shareholder Richemont."

The first collection will be launched next January for the spring-summer 2019, and will be presented at the beginning of September at the international opticians and spectacles show (SILMO), which will be held from September 28 to October 1, 2018 at the Parc des Expositions in Paris. Paris-Nord Villepinte

The partnership between Kering Eyewear and Richemont follows in the footsteps of Cartier in March 2017 and Alaïa in February 2018. With brands like Chloé and Van Cleef & Arpels in the Swiss group's portfolio, the list of licenses between the two companies could continue to add names.

During its fiscal year 2017/18, ended March 31, Richemont recorded a turnover of nearly 10 980 million euros, an increase of 3% year after year. For its part, Kering Eyewear, a subsidiary of Kering, which distributes the 17 licenses of the group in a hundred countries, achieved in 2017 a turnover of 352 million euros.

The group led by François-Henri Pinault also recalls in his latest annual report that the glbades segment now represents 5% of the luxury goods market. As a result, it accounted for a total of 12 billion euros in 2017, an increase of 4% over the previous year.