Macy's and Luxottica: Exclusive Agreement to Open Additional Sunglass Hut Points of Sale in About 430 Macy's Department Stores i

CINCINNATI and MILAN, Dec. 4  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Macy's, Inc. (NYSE: M), one of the premier retailers in the United States, and Luxottica Group S.p.A. (MTA: LUX; NYSE: LUX), a leader in the design, manufacturing, distribution and retailing of premium, luxury and sports eyewear, today announced the signing of an agreement to open additional Sunglass Hut points of sale in about 430 Macy's department stores in the U.S. Sunglass Hut, the world's biggest chain specializing in "sun" eyewear, will be the exclusive operator of Macy's in-store sunglass departments when the rollout is complete. Macy's will be the exclusive U.S. department store with Sunglass Hut locations.

Together with 240 Sunglass Hut departments already operating in Macy's, this new agreement will bring the total number of in-store Sunglass Hut locations to about 670. New locations, which will operate as leased departments, will begin rolling out in Spring 2010, with completion scheduled for Spring 2011.

"Through this agreement, Macy's is able to offer a comprehensive assortment of sun eyewear, including brands not previously available in all Macy's stores," said Ron Klein, Macy's chief stores officer. "Sunglasses are an important fashion and functional accessory for our customers. Going forward with Sunglass Hut, we will be able to offer a wider choice of styles, supported by the high level of service associated with Macy's."

Thanks to this agreement, Sunglass Hut affirms its positioning in the crucial department stores segment and significantly expands its global presence, especially in the U.S.

"The agreement with Macy's is strategically important to us," said Fabio d'Angelantonio, Luxottica Group's Executive Vice President, Sun & Luxury Retail. "This development reinforces our commitment as a Group to the department store segment in the U.S. and to growing the overall exposure of consumers in this market to the quality sunwear category. This agreement enables us to strengthen our presence in a market as vital to us as the U.S. and it significantly consolidates our partnership with Macy's, one of the premier names in U.S. retailing."

Macy's Inc.

Macy's, Inc., with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, is one of the nation's premier retailers, with fiscal 2008 sales of $24.9 billion. The company operates more than 850 department stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. The company also operates macys.com and bloomingdales.com. Prior to June 1, 2007, Macy's, Inc. was known as Federated Department Stores, Inc.

Luxottica Group S.p.A.

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. Luxottica's key house brands include Ray-Ban, the best known sun eyewear brand in the world, Oakley, Vogue, Persol, Oliver Peoples, Arnette and REVO, while license brands include Bvlgari, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tiffany and Versace. In addition to a global wholesale network covering 130 countries, the Group manages leading retail brands such as LensCrafters and Pearle Vision in North America, OPSM and Laubman & Pank in Australasia, LensCrafters in Greater China and Sunglass Hut globally. The Group's products are designed and manufactured in six Italy-based manufacturing plants, two wholly-owned plants in China and a sports sunglass production facility in the U.S. In 2008, Luxottica Group posted consolidated net sales of euro 5.2 billion. Additional information on the Group is available at http://www.luxottica.com/.

Sunglass Hut

Sunglass Hut is the largest sunglass specialty retailer in the world with more than 2,000 retail locations. With a global reputation for premium sunglass brands, Sunglass Hut offers the latest designer brands along with outstanding customer service. Sunglass Hut stores are located throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Middle East and South Africa.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those which are anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the ability to manage the effect of the poor current global economic conditions on our business, the ability to successfully acquire new businesses and integrate their operations, the ability to predict future economic conditions and changes in consumer preferences, the ability to successfully introduce and market new products, the ability to maintain an efficient distribution network, the ability to achieve and manage growth, the ability to negotiate and maintain favorable license arrangements, the availability of correction alternatives to prescription eyeglasses, fluctuations in exchange rates, as well as other political, economic and technological factors and other risks and uncertainties described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update them. 

DATASOURCE: Luxottica Group S.p.A.



CONTACT:  Macy's, Inc. media and investor relations contacts: Media: Jim

Sluzewski, [phone]; Investor: Susan Robinson, [phone], both of

Macy's, Inc.; Luxottica Group S.p.A. media and investor relations contacts:

Ivan Dompe, Group Corporate Communications Director, [phone],

; Alessandra Senici, Group Investor Relations

Director, [phone], ; Luca Biondolillo,

SVP, International Corporate Communications, [phone], Mobile:

[phone], , all of Luxottica Group S.p.A.



Web Site:  http://www.luxottica.com/ 

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