Online optician Mister Spex has snapped up Swedish rivals Lensstore and Loveyewear for an undisclosed amount as it seeks to strengthen its position in Europe. The Berlin-based company, which was founded as a startup in 2007, says the newly-enlarged entity will generate revenues of €48 million this year, compared to €26m in 2012.
The acquisition was financed by Mister Spex’s existing investors, which include Team Europe, HTGF, Grazia Equity, DN Capital and, XAnge.
Lensstore sells contact lenses in Sweden, Norway and Finland while Loveyewear offers premium brand prescription glasses and sunglasses in Sweden. All their employees, including the current management team led by Fredrik Malm and Patrik Hamilton, will remain in place.
Mister Spex founder and CEO Dirk Graber said the deal would see the three fastest-growing online online eyewear companies in Europe come together: “With this step we demonstrate our leading position in Europe and accelerate our international expansion.”
Fellow MD Mirko Caspar said: “With Lensstore and Loveyewear we have found the best partners for Mister Spex in the Nordics. … We share a passion for digitizing the eyewear industry and will combine Mister Spex’s expertise in the sale of prescription glasses and sunglasses with the excellent market position of Lensstore and Loveyewear in contact lenses and premium eyewear in the Nordics.”
And Scandinavia was a particularly attractive place to expand, Caspar added, because the percentage of the population who wear contact lenses is four times higher than in Germany – and Scandinavians are also much more attuned to online shopping: “This provides an ideal foundation for our international strategy, meaning that Mister Spex will be present in the most relevant e-commerce markets in Europe.”
Mister Spex is Germany’s largest online optician, and offers a variety of prescription glasses, sunglasses and contact lenses. It also offers eye tests and adjustments through its 300 partner opticians.
Fredrik Malm, founder of Lensstore and Loveyewear, said the deal would allow his company to “offer our customers the complete range of optical products online and to accelerate the growth of our business.”