Luxottica Group

• Looking Through Google Glass Reviews

  By Matthew Luke - May 7, 2013 | Tickers: BIDU, GOOG, LUX

  A few weeks ago, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) began the limited, invitation-only, release of its Google Glass smartglasses device. A select few app developers and general consumers, known as ‘Explorers,’, were given the ability to test the Explorer Edition, a quasi-prototype version of Google Glass. The reviews are now in. What do these Explorers have to say about Google’s entry into the emerging space of wearable technology?

  2011 called…

  At more »

• These 3 Luxury Stocks Are Worth a Look

  By Piyush Arora - April 12, 2013 | Tickers: LUX, SIG, TIF

  The unemployment rate is consistently dipping as the Fed continues to pump $85 billion of liquidity every month. This has increased personal disposable income, which in turn has bolstered consumer confidence.

  It’s a well-known fact that with increased liquidity in the economy, retailers perform well, and with increased consumer confidence, real estate and luxury companies also get a boost. With this investment thesis, luxury retailer Tiffany (NYSE: TIF) seems more »

• Amazon Survivors and the Lessons Learned

  By Matthew Luke - April 10, 2013 | Tickers: AMZN, LUX, LVMUY, SBUX

  Borders, Blockbuster and Tower Records were just some of the many traditional brick and mortar retailers who fell victim to Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and its e-commerce brethren. Today these brick and mortar retailers no longer exist, exist in name only, or have a retail presence a mere fraction of their past glory. Whether it was Amazon’s strategy of undercutting competitors with razor-thin profit margins or offering products and more »

• Luxury Stocks Are Here To Stay

  By Piyush Arora - April 9, 2013 | Tickers: LUX, SIG, TIF

  The unemployment rate is consistently dipping as the Fed continues to pump $85 billion worth of monthly liquidity. This has increased the personal disposable income in the economy which in turn has bolstered the consumer confidence. It’s a well-known fact that with increased liquidity in the economy, retailers perform well, and with increased consumer confidence, real estate and luxury companies also get a boost. With this investment thesis, luxury more »

• The Suddenly Crowded Smartglasses Space

  By Matthew Luke - April 7, 2013 | Tickers: BIDU, GOOG, LUX, MSFT, SNE

  Lately it seems that every other day brings with it news about the emerging wearable technology space. A few days ago I wrote about The Suddenly Crowded Smartwatch Space. In that article I talked about how the much hyped, but completely unconfirmed, Apple iWatch product was being joined by the confirmed Samsung smartwatch and the unconfirmed Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android smartwatch.

  Just last week Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Baidu.com (NASDAQ: BIDUmore »)

• The Unassessed Risk of the iWatch

  By Jon Quast - April 3, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, FOSL, GOOG, LUX

  "I am always a step behind when it comes to technological developments...My next problem will be cell phones...I'll have given in by the time you read this, but by then I'll probably be among the last people in America not reading e-mail on their wristwatches."

  -John McWhorter, author of the Power of Babel, copyright 2001.

  Rumors concerning an Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iWatch have sparked a brand more »

• Three Italian Names to Own

  By Federico Zaldua - April 3, 2013 | Tickers: E, LUX

  As a fixed income investor I have been very active in Italy. I think that the country has great untapped potential despite its recent poor economic performance. I expect this performance to ameliorate at a slow pace. It will take years for the country to come back to its pre 2008 output peak. That said, many companies within Italy have strong potential and have recently reshaped their strategies. Plus, given more »

• Investing in a Near-Monopoly

  By Matthew Luke - April 2, 2013 | Tickers: GOOG, LUX, WMT |

  As an investor there is nothing I hate more than competition. Not only do I hate competition, but I despite it! I want the companies I invest in to have the ability to crowd-out would-be competitors and raises prices on consumers as high as humanly possible… and for them to raise them even higher the next year. I want monopolies!

  Unfortunately for us investors (but fortunately for us consumers), competition more »

• The Future of Wearable Tech

  By Matthew Luke - March 22, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, GLW, GOOG, LUX

  Is that a smartphone? A computing device that you hold in your hand? How quaint. That may have been cutting-edge technology back in the bygone era of 2007, but this is 2013. And in 2013 the future is wearable technology.

  Although it may be the future, wearable technology is hardly a new technological concept. The first ‘smartwatches’ were found on the wrists of consumers back in the early-1980s. These first more »

• Luxottica Group: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

  By Ryan Guenette - November 5, 2012 | Tickers: LUX, RL, COO

  A SWOT analysis is a look at a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and is a tremendous way to gain a detailed and thorough perspective on a company and its future. Fresh off their third quarter earnings report, which displayed the company’s prevalent financial strength and sent the stock up moderately, I would like to focus on the Italian eyewear giant Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX).

  Strengths:

  • As more »

• The Ultimate Vertically Integrated Company You've Never Heard Of

  By Jonathan Lim - October 20, 2012 | Tickers: LUX, ZQK

  Based in Milan, Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX) just might be the ultimate vertically integrated company. And chances are that you have never heard of it.

  The fact is that whatever your vision, if you've ever purchased a pair of glasses - nonprescription sunglasses included - you have likely given Luxottica some of your hard-earned money.

  That's because Luxottica owns icons in eyewear, such as Oakley and Ray-Ban, and manufactures glasses more »

• Is Signet Jewelers a Hidden Gem?

  By Meena Krishnamsetty - July 22, 2012 | Tickers: LUX, SIG, TIF

  Signet Jewelers (NYSE: SIG) is a mainstream jewelry retailer- it operates Kay Jewelers and Jared The Galleria of Jewelry- and would seem to be threatened by economic conditions in the U.S. So far this year the stock is down 2% after being up about 1% in 2011. While the share price has been stagnant, the company’s performance has been reasonable, beating earnings estimates each of the last four more »

• Italian ADRs - Time to Buy on Weakness?

  By Eric Volkman - January 2, 2012 | Tickers: E, LUX, NTZ, TI, TEF, VOD

  For many of the world's investors, Italy is in the doghouse. Saddled by massive public debt and seemingly unable to raise enough cash to alleviate this through bond auctions, the country is one of the chief culprits behind Europe's current fiscal crisis. Crises beget opportunity for the contrarians among us, however. So could Italian stocks be lying low enough in said doghouse - i.e., they're cheap - to more »