CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France— Essilor International (Reuters: ESSI.PA) reported Friday that it has acquired a majority stake in Company Grand Vision, a major distributor of ophthalmic lenses and contact lenses in Russia that generates annual revenue of around €29 million. Company Grand Vision will continue to be led by its current management team and will help to strengthen Essilor’s multi-network strategy in Russia, where the Essilor and BBGR brands have been on the market for several years.

Essilor announced the news as part of its third quarter 2014 financial results (see related story below), noting that the acquisition “confirms the strategic nature of this market of more than 140 million people, where less than a third of the population is equipped with corrective eyewear and where growth is driven by strong demand for value-added products such as progressive and high-index lenses.”

In addition, Essilor announced that in China, Xiamen Yarui Optical (Bolon), a 50 percent-held subsidiary over which Essilor exercises control, signed an agreement to become a majority shareholder in the company that owns the Prosun brand. Prosun, which generated revenue of about €7 million in 2013, designs, manufactures and sells sunglasses in China’s fast-growing mid-range segment. The second best-known local sunglasses brand in China after Bolon, Prosun mainly specializes in sunglasses for men and children, and will enhance Essilor’s current offering under the Bolon and Molsion brands.