Eyewear: Berenberg sees potential ahead, believes in recovery

Fielmann AG

23/07/2020 08:22

** According to Berenberg the global eyewear market offers
attractive, long-term, resilient growth and it estimates it has
the potential to be three times bigger than it is today and has
confidence in a fast near-term recovery
    ** The brokerage says the eyewear sector is approaching a
tipping point, with "online-driven" millennials reaching the age
where vision impairments accelerate and adds consumers are also
spending more on eyewear and more frequently
    ** It also notes a change in how and where consumers shop
for eyewear, and the competitive dynamics of the industry are
evolving as new entrants emerge that are more appealing to
millennials, offering more compelling digital propositions
    ** Berenberg adds highly margin-accretive sale of
prescription glasses online is accelerating, boosted by
COVID-19
    ** The broker says the eyewear sector is relatively
resilient to macroeconomic shocks and believes there is now an
attractive opportunity to buy into the recovery
    ** Berenberg starts EssilorLuxottica  ESLX.PA  with "buy" as
it is best placed to seize these opportunities as a market
leader, whereas online could present more risks than
opportunities for Fielmann  FIEG.DE  ("sell")
    ** "We believe the GrandVision  GVNV.AS  deal could be
transformational for EssilorLuxottica, but the deal is now
subject to greater risks and uncertainty", it adds and cuts the
company to "hold" from "buy"

 ((joanna.wodzicka@tr.com))