Fielmann invests millions in augmented reality provider FittingBox

Hamburg — Fiel­mann Ventures GmbH, a wholly owned subsi­diary of Fiel­mann A, has acqui­red around 20 per cent of the shares in augmen­ted reality specia­list Fitting­Box S.A. as part of a capi­tal increase. The stra­te­gic invest­ment in the French tech­no­logy company is a consis­tent step in Fielmann’s digi­tiza­tion stra­tegy. The parties have agreed not to disc­lose the exact purchase price.

Marc Fiel­mann (photo), Chair­man of the Manage­ment Board of Fiel­mann AG: “With 13 patents, Fitting­Box is the world leader in the field of 3D fitting of glas­ses and sunglas­ses. With this invest­ment, we are deepe­ning our stra­te­gic coope­ra­tion. Toge­ther we are working on the online purchase of glas­ses in Fiel­mann quality. This requi­res inno­va­tive tech­no­lo­gies such as
the 3D try-on, but also the milli­­me­­ter-precise 3D fitting of glas­ses. This is how Fiel­mann is digi­tiz­ing the opti­cal indus­try to the bene­fit of custo­mers without compro­mi­sing on quality.”

Thomas Rützel, Mana­ging Direc­tor of Fiel­mann Ventures GmbH: “Our invest­ment in Fitting­Box is the result of a detailed analy­sis. Fitting­Box has deve­lo­ped a 3D fitting tech­no­logy that is clearly supe­rior to all rele­vant alter­na­ti­ves. This tech­no­logy is a key compo­nent in the digi­tal plat­form that Fiel­mann Ventures is deve­lo­ping with part­ners for the opti­cal industry.”

Benja­min Hakoun, Mana­ging Direc­tor and co-foun­­der Fitting­Box S.A.: “We are thril­led to have Fiel­mann, one of the world’s leading opti­cal compa­nies, as our stra­te­gic part­ner. Thanks to the invest­ment, we can deve­lop our tech­no­logy solu­ti­ons even faster and open up new sales markets.
Our two compa­nies are united by a strictly custo­­mer-orien­­ted corpo­rate culture. Toge­ther, we will further expand FittingBox’s posi­tion as the leading tech­no­logy solu­tion for omnich­an­nel eyewear purcha­sing, accom­pany­ing the wearer throug­hout the entire custo­mer jour­ney, online and in-store. We are very plea­sed to have Squair Law as our legal advi­sor and CapM Advi­sors as our finan­cial advi­sor in closing this investment.
have supported.”

Ariel Chou­kroun, CTO and co-foun­­der Fitting­Box S.A.: “Fiel­mann has deca­des of expe­ri­ence, knows the needs of spec­ta­cle wearers like no other company. This puts Fitting­Box in a posi­tion to align our tech­no­logy solu­ti­ons even better with the wishes of the custo­mers. On the one hand, spec­ta­cle wearers bene­fit from this, and on the other hand, of course, our custo­mers, i.e. retail­ers and manu­fac­tu­r­ers, also bene­fit. Kreaxi and LBO France remain share­hol­ders in Fitting­Box. They have enab­led the growth of our company with their early investments.”

In the next few weeks, Fiel­mann will inte­grate the 3D fitting into the new omnich­an­nel consul­ting process
in the test market Austria, is test­ing the solu­tion both in its bran­ches and online. The roll­out of the new system in Germany will follow in 2019.

About Fiel­mann Ventures GmbH
Fiel­mann Ventures GmbH was foun­ded in August 2012 as an inde­pen­dent subsi­diary of Fiel­mann AG based in Hamburg. Fiel­mann Ventures deve­lops and promo­tes products, tech­no­lo­gies and sustainable busi­ness models for the future of the opti­cal industry.

About Fiel­mann AG
Fiel­mann stands for eyewear fashion at a fair price, opera­tes over 700 bran­ches across Europe. 24 million people wear glas­ses from Fiel­mann; in Germany, the listed family company sells every second pair of glas­ses. Fiel­mann covers all levels of value crea­tion in optics, is a desi­gner, manu­fac­tu­rer and optician.

About Fitting­Box S.A.
Foun­ded in 2006, Fitting­Box (www.fittingbox.com) is the world’s leading provi­der of augmen­ted reality tech­no­logy such as 3D try-on for eyeglas­ses and sunglas­ses. The company is head­quar­te­red in Toulouse, France, and also opera­tes a sales company in Miami, USA. Fitting­Box deve­lops inno­va­tive tech­no­logy solu­ti­ons and digi­tal content for the opti­cal indus­try, has the world’s largest data­base of frame photos and 3D models. In the more than 10-year history of the company, Fitting­Box has alre­ady recei­ved nume­rous awards and prizes in the field of rese­arch and innovation.