Meta Considers Buying 5% Stake in Sunglass Maker EssilorLuxottica

May Meta be shifting into the world of vogue?

I imply, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has actually made an effort to grow to be extra modern of late, and with its Ray Ban Tales glasses turning into a extra in-demand accent, it’s not so laborious to think about a future the place Meta is also a vogue model in itself.

Properly, perhaps.

Late final week, The Wall Road Journal reported that Meta is in talks to amass a 5% stake in EssilorLuxottica, the corporate behind these very Ray Ban sun shades.

EssilorLuxottica, whom Meta has been working with on Ray Ban Tales for the previous few years, owns varied vogue manufacturers, along with Ray Ban, together with Oakley and Sunglass Hut, and as such, the funding right here is seen as a way to fend off competitors within the accelerating wearable areas, by making certain that Meta stays the one associate for EssilorLuxottica’s design IP and distribution.

In accordance with WSJ, the deal could be price round $US5 billion, including to Meta’s backside line for its metaverse growth.

And that could possibly be a sensible transfer. Meta says that demand for Ray Ban Tales is exceeding manufacturing capability, and with the corporate additionally seeking to showcase its totally AR enabled sun shades later this yr, securing its partnership with the sunglass maker may assist to solidify a key benefit, in making each practical and trendy units.

However there may additionally be one other factor to this proposed partnership which hasn’t been as extensively mentioned as but.

One other vogue model that EssilorLuxottica now owns is Supreme, the development main vogue model that’s gained massive traction through a spread of excessive profile prospects.

EssilorLuxxotica acquired Supreme earlier this month, flagging a transfer into different areas of vogue, which may additionally play an element in Meta’s transfer to take up a stake within the firm.

After all, the AR wearables angle is probably the most logical, and most rapid partnership between the 2. However what if Meta additionally partnered with Supreme on restricted version vogue drops, facilitated completely on Fb and IG?

Would that assist to make Meta’s apps cool once more? It will actually deliver a crowd, and what if Meta regarded to launch a Supreme model of its Quest headset?

There’s a spread of how through which this might result in a broader vogue crossover between Meta and Supreme, along with its funding in the way forward for its AR glasses.

It’s all speculative proper now, with no official affirmation of Meta shopping for a stake within the firm. However you’ll be able to see a possible roadmap for a future ramping in the direction of making Meta’s apps cool once more, with a longer-term view to constructing the metaverse into the vacation spot to just about hang around.

As such, there could possibly be extra at play right here than AR glasses alone, as Meta considers how to make sure that its future tasks stay the favored alternative amongst youthful audiences.