Ray-Ban Meta glasses are the top selling product in 60% of Ray-Ban stores in EMEA.
EMEA is a geographical region encompassing Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, typically used as a global division by companies.
The revelation comes from EssilorLuxottica's CFO Stefano Grassi on the company's Q3 2024 earnings call. EssilorLuxottica is Ray-Ban's parent company, which has a near monopoly on the eyewear market worldwide and also owns other iconic brands like Oakley.
Here's what Grassi told investors on the earnings call:
"Ray-Ban Meta, very happy about the performance that we've seen. I mean, we – it's an overall success story that we see. Just to give you an idea, it's not just a success in the U.S., where it's obvious, but it's also success in – success here in Europe. Just to give you an idea, in 60% of the Ray-Ban stores in Europe, in EMEA, Ray-Ban Meta is the best-seller in those stores. So it's something that it's extremely pleasing."
Given that multiple sources point to the average selling price (ASP) of Ray-Ban products landing around $150-$200, that the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which start at $300, are the top selling product in more than half of stores in the EMEA region is an early indicator that consumers are willing to pay more for smart glasses if they're stylish and widely available to try on.
David Heaney
Of course, the Ray-Ban Meta glasses are relatively primitive smart glasses. They lack any kind of display, and EssilorLuxottica reportedly "balked" at the thickness of a design needed to integrate one for next year. There's still a very long path from this to appealing true AR glasses even being available, never mind widespread, likely spanning decades rather than years.
On the software side, Meta has been adding new features to the Ray-Ban glasses to make them more useful, much the same as it does with its Quest headsets. It recently added reminders, timers, WhatsApp voice messages, QR code scanning, and more natural Meta AI invocation, and it plans to add live translation, Spotify controls, and more later this year.
David Heaney
Meta and EssilorLuxottica recently extended their partnership into the 2030s, and the companies say they will develop “multi-generational smart eyewear products”. Samsung and Google are reportedly working on a competitor, and Apple is reportedly exploring releasing one in 2027 too.
