Sticker shock: Why are glasses so expensive?

One factor: the world’s largest eyewear company, the Italian firm Luxottica, controls a big chunk of the business.

You could easily be spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars for a pair that costs 30 dollars 10 years ago. Talk about sticker shock. And it’s not as though things have changed that much they’re still made of a couple of pieces of plastic or wire some screws and glass. Why should a pair of glasses cost more than an iPad.

One answer is because one company controls a big. Chunk of the business. Never has there been so much choice. Ray Bans. Oakleys. glasses for running and skiing. And even reading. A Staggering variety of colors and designers. You’d think the competition would force the prices down. Wow, look at that. One reason it hasn’t is a little known but very big Italian company called Luxottica. If you own a nice pair of specs or shades they’re probably theirs. Luxottica is the biggest eyewear company on earth. It shuns publicity. But CEO Andrea Guerra invited us in for a look.