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Podcast: Today In History with The Retrospectors
Episode: Empire of the Sunglasses
Description: Why are spectacles so expensive? The sheer scale of EssilorLuxottica, the world’s biggest maker of eyewear and lenses, might have something to do with it. On 21st September, 2007, they paid $2.1 billion for the last major designer brand they didn’t already own: Oakley.Their empire now includes Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany, Persol, Ray-Ban and DKNY. But they don’t just make frames: they also own many opticians, including LensCrafters; a situation critics suggest has resulted in them effectively operating a price-fixing monopoly. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly re...