Global leader in eyewear design, manufacture and retail, EssilorLuxottica has partnered with e-commerce and marketplace accelerator, Pattern to expand business for its Ray-Ban and Oakley brands through online marketplaces in Australia.

EssilorLuxottica senior key account manager, Brent Furniss said, “Given the growing influence of marketplaces in Australia, EssilorLuxottica recognised the importance of being present where our customers are shopping, which is increasingly on platforms like Amazon.

“Partnering with Pattern to officially launch on Amazon allows customers to buy our industry-leading eyewear products from a trusted marketplace source. It also supports sales for our wider wholesale partnership network, by providing visibility of Ray-Ban and Oakley products to increasing numbers of consumers using Amazon as a search tool.”

The partnership with Pattern to sell Ray-Ban and Oakley eyewear products on Amazon is a global first for EssilorLuxottica, which has traditionally directly engaged with Amazon in other markets.

“Direct engagement with Amazon in the Australian market presented significant resourcing challenges for EssilorLuxottica, requiring dedicated personnel we did not currently have on board. Pattern’s end-to-end marketplace services offered us the solution we needed, ensuring we were positioned to quickly expand the visibility of our Ray-Ban and Oakley brands on Australia’s leading marketplace,” Furniss added.

In working with EssilorLuxottica, Pattern will build brand awareness and acquire new customers on Amazon for Ray-Ban and Oakley, optimising listings, conversion and profitability, as well as identifying unauthorised resellers and cross-docking inventory to Amazon.

“EssilorLuxottica operates on a global scale and maintains a diverse network of partnerships worldwide. As such, it was crucial for us to avoid diverting customers from our existing wholesale partners. Instead, our aim was to tap into a fresh pool of consumers who might purchase directly from the Amazon platform or who might search on Amazon then purchase through our various other sales channels,” Furniss said.

Pattern’s Marketplace Consumer Trends Report for 2024 revealed that 59% of Australian consumers now start their product searches on Amazon, and 60% have discovered and purchased products they’d never bought before. In the last quarter of 2023, Ray-Ban products were searched every 1.8 minutes and Oakley products were searched every 2.1 minutes on Amazon Australia.

Prior to working with Pattern, Ray-Ban and Oakley products were already present on Australian marketplaces. However, these listings were not under the direct management of EssilorLuxottica and could potentially come from unauthorised resellers.

Pattern Australia managing director, Merline McGregor said unauthorised resellers present a huge challenge for brands like EssilorLuxottica.

“They can damage brand value by listing incorrect product or brand information. This confuses and undermines the consumer’s perception of a brand and can result in a poor customer experience,” she said.

“Pattern has developed proprietary software, Predict, which provides brands with the visibility and control needed to tackle this issue. Predict has already made a tangible impact, tracing an estimated AU$2.5 million in potential unauthorised sales for a global footwear brand in the Australian market.”