December 16, 2009 (FinancialWire) — Luxottica Group S.p.A. (NYSE: LUX) (MTA: LUX), a leader in the design, manufacturing and distribution of fashion, luxury and sports eyewear, and drugstore.com, inc. (NASDAQ: DSCM), a leading online retailer of health, beauty, vision, and pharmacy products, announced a strategic, multi-year ecommerce alliance to expand online access to contact lenses in the North American market.

Under this exclusive agreement, Vision Direct, Inc., a leading online contact lens retailer and a wholly-owned subsidiary of drugstore.com, will collaborate with Luxottica Group to develop branded, contact lens ecommerce sites for the company’s North American business, and provide customer care and fulfillment services. The alliance will enable Luxottica, starting with its retail brands, to offer a comprehensive solution for consumers to conveniently purchase contact lenses in-person, by telephone or online. In addition the two companies will pursue synergies such as purchasing contact lenses on behalf of the alliance and plan to cooperate in a number of other related areas, including Luxottica’s North America-based wholesale business.

As of September 30, 2009, Luxottica operated 2,939 optical stores across North America, including LensCrafters and Pearle Vision. The new contact lens ecommerce services are expected to launch in mid-2010.

Drugstore.com will incur a one-time advisory fee in connection with entering into this alliance, which will be reflected in the company’s fourth quarter earnings.

Luxottica Group is a leader in premium fashion, luxury and sports eyewear, with over 6,150 optical and sun retail stores in North America, Asia-Pacific, China, South Africa and Europe and a strong and well balanced brand portfolio.

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