The company’s master distribution hub in Dongguan, China will service the Asia-Pacific region for all eyewear, although Luxottica indicated that some key functions would rain in Australia.Ms Anthea Muir, Luxottica’s president of optical retail in Australia and New Zealand, said the move would allow the company to centralise and strengthen its service to the Asia-Pacific region. Bringing the regional work into a single facility will give us a tighter footprint and ensure a strong position in stock levels at all times, a critical tool in serving the customer, she stated.The decision means that all of OPSM’s stock will be sourced from China, rather than locally, relying on distribution from China via overnight airfreight directly to its stores.When asked how the longer delivery time from China to Australia would impact practices, Ms Muir told Insight, Currently all wholesale customers [independent optometrists] receive stock from our central Asia-Pacific distribution hub. We will continue to provide the same level of quality service to our customers, delivering a strong position in stock levels at all times. While local independent practices may not be affected, the shift means Luxottica will close its Australian distribution centre by Novber.Insight understands that the company has already informed the owner of the large property it leases for its national distribution centre in Revesby, Sydney, that it will relinquish the lease by the end of this year.The Revesby centre has been operating since late 2004 and is currently staffed by 36 ployees. Ms Muir said outplacent services would be made available to all distribution centre staff to support th in finding alternative ployment, but noted, Where possible, we are working with ployees on opportunities within Luxottica Retail Australia. She added, We’re grateful to the team in Revesby for their hard work and dedication to service. Over the coming months, a global team will be working on the transition to supply Luxottica inventories from our distribution centre in China and will work with local suppliers to maintain our highest standards of service. * CORRECTION *An earlier version of the story mentioned lenses would be sourced from China. Luxottica has since stated that all OPSM and Laubman & Pank lenses continue to be supplied by Essilor and manufactured by Eyebiz Laboratory, which is a joint venture between Essilor and Luxottica. The Australian distribution centre closure will have no impact on the manufacturing of OPSM and Laubman & Pank lenses.
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