CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—EssilorLuxottica (Reuters: ESLX.PA) said last week that results from its “Boost 2021” international employee shareholding plan show that close to 54,000 eligible employees subscribed in 78 countries, with a very high subscription rate above 65 percent compared with 62 percent last year. Coverage for this session of the Boost yearly campaign was extended to welcome employee shareholders from five more countries, and new subscribers are now taking part from Bangladesh, Benin, Latvia, Morocco and Ukraine, the announcement noted.

As a result, EssilorLuxottica said nearly 67,000 of the group’s employees in 85 countries today hold a financial stake in the company, a steady rise up from approximately 63,000 in 2020 and 56,000 in 2019.
 
More than 11,000 employee retirees are also shareholders showing their engagement and confidence in the company, the announcement noted. Also on the rise, approximately 20,000 employee shareholders are members of Valoptec, the independent employee shareholder association that supports EssilorLuxottica’s values as well as contributes to its governance.
 
“Employee shareholding represents a cornerstone of EssilorLuxottica’s culture and long-term strategy. The thriving community of global employee shareholders underscores their strong commitment to play an active role in the company’s long-term success and sustainable growth,” the announcement noted. “By allowing employees to take a financial stake in the company’s capital on favorable terms, it aligns their interests with those of the Group and of other shareholders.”
 
Added Francesco Milleri and Paul du Saillant, respectively, chief executive officer and deputy chief executive officer of EssilorLuxottica, ““Every year, EssilorLuxottica's Boost international employee shareholding plan is a full success with a steady growing subscription rate. This dynamic reflects our employees’ confidence in the company’s ambitious strategy and their endorsement of its mission to help everyone to ‘see more, be more.’ We are very proud of this, and our objective is to continue building on this pillar of the company’s culture and to open this opportunity to as many employees as possible in the years to come.”