GrandVision, the parent company of Pearle and Eye Wish, does not seem to be affected much by the Covid crisis. In its first quarter, sales remained more or less stable.
Higher profits
GrandVision achieved sales of 889 million euro in the first three months of the year, approximately 1.5 % less than in the same period last year. Adjusted gross profit even increased from 41 million euros to 79 million euros. Almost all eyewear stores are open again today, Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad reports.
Meanwhile, the legal battle between GrandVision and its intended new owner EssilorLuxottica is nearing its conclusion. The court of arbitration in Geneva is expected to rule on the case in June. The Dutch company wants to force the French-Italian eyewear group to go through with the takeover for the agreed price of 7.2 billion euros.
EssilorLuxottica blamed GrandVision for badly handling the crisis during the last year and therefore demanded access to sensitive company information, but the court refused to grant this twice. Observers see the actions of the French-Italian company mainly as a manoeuvre to get the takeover price down or even avoid a deal altogether.
