Kering Eyewear Acquires Supplier UNT
MILAN — Kering Eyewear is strengthening its supply chain.
The eyewear specialist said Monday it is acquiring Usinage & Nouvelles Technologies, or UNT, a France-based company manufacturing high-precision mechanical and metal components for the eyewear sector.
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Founded in 1989 in Morbier in the Upper Jura district, France’s eyewear hub, the company has been a longtime supplier to Kering Eyewear.
Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, were not disclosed.
UNT joins the supply chain portfolio of Kering Eyewear, which includes Manufacture Kering Eyewear, previously known as Manufacture Cartier Lunettes, acquired in 2017, and Trenti Industria Occhiali, bought in 2019.
“We are pleased to welcome UNT into the Kering Eyewear family. I truly admire the outstanding job that UNT has carried out so far and we are excited to embark on this new journey with a trusted and deeply valued partner,” said Roberto Vedovotto, president and chief executive officer of Kering Eyewear, which he helped build from scratch in 2014.
“Being a long-term, high-quality supplier of Manufacture Kering Eyewear, this new acquisition represents the opportunity to create an integrated luxury eyewear platform with best-in-class manufacturing capabilities, facilities and talents, in addition to supporting and further elevating [France’s] Jura district,” the executive added.
Kering Eyewear, which is headquartered in the 17th-century Villa Zaguri in Padova, about an hour away from Venice, develops and distributes collections for brands ranging from Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Alexander McQueen to Alaïa, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, McQ and Puma.
In March 2017, Compagnie Financière Richemont became a stakeholder in Kering Eyewear, which led to the production of Cartier eyewear. Collections for Montblanc, Courrèges and Balenciaga have been added and, most recently, for Chloé and Dunhill.
The company also runs two proprietary brands, Lindberg and Maui Jim, the latter of which was acquired in 2022.
In eight years, Kering Eyewear has grown to reach revenues of over one billion euros in 2022, up 58 percent year-over-year.
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