Visilab

What Visilab does

Visilab (legally VISILABGROUP SA) is a privately-held Swiss optical and hearing care retailer founded in 1988 and headquartered in Meyrin, Geneva. The company operates 78 physical optician stores across Switzerland, concentrated in major urban centers including Geneva, Zurich, Basel, Lausanne, Bern, Luzern, St. Gallen, and Chur, with locations in high-traffic retail areas such as Bahnhofstrasse (Zurich), Place Bel-Air (Geneva), and The Circle at Zurich Airport. It sells prescription glasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, and emerging connected eyewear products (Nuance Audio smart glasses and Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses), alongside value-tier house-brand products including Eyexpert contact lenses and V-Budget frames.

The company's revenue model combines one-time retail transactions with two recurring subscription products: Visilab Optimum (spectacle subscription from CHF 27/month with 24-month minimum commitment, annual eye test, and insurance coverage) and Lens Subscription (Linsen-Abo) offering 25% discounts on contact lenses and related products. Pricing spans from budget-tier single-vision glasses under the V-Budget line to premium designer frames from Ray-Ban, Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Tom Ford, and Giorgio Armani, with free delivery above CHF 100. The technology stack includes a full e-commerce platform (visilab.ch) with appointment booking, virtual try-on (photo-based frame visualization), online vision tests covering eight vision parameters, and MyVisilab account management.

Visilab serves primarily individual Swiss consumers for vision correction, fashion eyewear, and hearing care, with a secondary corporate channel (Visilab atWork) for employer-sponsored vision and hearing programs. Go-to-market is hybrid omnichannel: physical retail dominates service delivery (eye exams, fittings, adjustments), while digital channels drive product discovery, promotional conversion, and subscription enrollment. Marketing spans paid social, organic content (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), health editorial content marketing, email/CRM communications, and promotional campaigns including seasonal discounts up to 50% off and an age-based discount offer (percentage discount equal to customer's age on prescription frames).

Name

Visilab

Legal name

VISILABGROUP SA

Website

https://visilab.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Visilab is a privately-held Swiss optical and hearing care retailer operating 78 physical optician stores across Switzerland plus an e-commerce platform, serving individual consumers with prescription glasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, and subscription eyewear programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Optical Retail

NAICS

Optical Goods Retailers (45613), Optical Goods Retailers (456130), Offices of Optometrists (62132)

SIC

Ophthalmic Goods (3851), Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro primary industry

Optical Dispensing & Eyewear Retail (Glasses/Frames/Lenses) (HLAKAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Prescription Eyewear Frames (Optical) (CRAAAKAA), Sunglasses (Non-Prescription) (CRAAAKAB), Luxury & Designer Eyewear (CRAAAKAD), Contact Lenses & Care Systems (Soft/RGP/Scleral Lenses; Cleaning/Disinfection Solutions) (HLAHAJAE), Optical Dispensing & Eyewear Devices (Frames, Lenses, Lens Edging/Finishing Equipment) (HLAHAJAD)

Keywords

• Prescription eyeglasses retail
• Contact lens sales
• Sunglasses retail
• Hearing aids audiology
• Optician services

Headquarters

HQ city

Meyrin

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices37 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Optical Eyewear Sales: Sale of prescription glasses, sunglasses, and frames from luxury and mainstream brands including Ray-Ban, Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Oakley, and others
2. Contact Lens Sales: Sale of daily, monthly, bi-monthly, and coloured contact lenses from brands including Eyexpert, Acuvue, Dailies, Air Optix, and Ultra. Offers lens subscription with 25% discount
3. Spectacle Subscription (Visilab Optimum): Monthly rental subscription for 2 pairs of glasses from CHF 27/month, includes service pack with satisfaction guarantee, annual eye test, and breakage/loss/theft insurance
4. Hearing Aids and Services: Sale of hearing aids and related stereophonic equipment with free hearing tests and audiology services
5. Professional Services: Eye examinations, contact lens fittings, hearing tests, frame styling advice, insurance packages, and warranty services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Visilab is a Swiss optician chain that manufactures and retails prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses, alongside hearing aids and audiology services. It operates 78 physical optician stores across Switzerland complemented by an e-commerce website offering eye exams, contact-lens fittings, virtual try-on, and subscription plans for glasses and lenses.

Product overview

Visilab is a Swiss online optician offering a comprehensive eyewear and hearing care platform with physical store presence across Switzerland. The core product portfolio centers on prescription glasses (eyeglasses), sunglasses, and contact lenses, supplemented by specialized computer and reading glasses. The company provides a subscription-based Spectacle Subscription service (Brillen-Abo) for rental of optical glasses and Lens Subscription (Linsen-Abo) for contact lens deliveries. Additional offerings include Nuance Audio smart audio glasses, hearing aids and audition services, comprehensive eye examination services, and insurance/guarantee packages. The platform features a virtual try-on service for online frame selection. The product ecosystem spans across 78 physical optician stores throughout Switzerland, supported by an e-commerce platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nuance Audio: A smart glasses product line featuring audio capabilities, promoted as an innovative eyewear solution.

Products and services

• Prescription Glasses (Eyeglasses) Prescription optical glasses for vision correction, available for men, women, and children, with various frame styles, colors, and lens options including progressive, single-vision, and anti-fatigue lenses.
• Sunglasses Sunglasses for men, women, and children, including sport sunglasses, available with various lens options such as polarized, graduated tint, and flash mirror coating.
• Contact Lenses Contact lenses available in daily, monthly, and bi-monthly variants, including colored lenses, with correction types for spherical, toric, and multifocal needs. Brands include Eyexpert, Acuvue, Dailies, Air Optix, and Ultra.
• Computer Glasses (Screen Glasses) Glasses designed for digital screen use, featuring blue light protection to reduce digital eye strain.
• Reading Glasses Glasses designed for near vision correction, suitable for presbyopia and reading tasks.
• Nuance Audio Audio-enabled connected glasses combining eyewear with built-in audio technology for hearing assistance and audio playback.
• Hearing Aids and Audition Services Hearing solutions including hearing aids in various shapes and ranges, stereophonic equipment, free hearing tests, and hearing health services.
• Lens Subscription (Linsen-Abo) Subscription service for contact lenses providing regular deliveries with 25% discount on lenses and care products, plus a free annual eye test.
• Spectacle Subscription (Visilab Optimum / Brillen-Abo) Monthly rental program for 2 pairs of optical glasses starting from CHF 27/month, including a service pack with satisfaction guarantee, annual eye test, and breakage/loss/theft insurance.
• Eye Exams Professional eye examinations including driver's license vision tests, complete eye exams, online view tests, and contact lens fitting services.
• Insurance and Guarantee Services Service packages including breakage insurance, solar breakage insurance, satisfaction guarantee, and loss/theft insurance for eyewear.
• Optical Lenses Prescription lens options including progressive, single-vision, proximity, anti-fatigue, and Transitions lenses, with treatments such as anti-reflective coating, anti-scratch, blue light filter (BlueProtect), and lens thinning.
• V-Budget Collection Budget-friendly eyewear collection including frames and lenses at discounted prices, covering single vision and progressive lens options.
• Eyexpert Brand Contact Lenses House brand contact lenses including Eyexpert Pure daily lenses, offered at competitive pricing.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• McOptic: Swiss optical retail chain operating a comparable scale of stores across Switzerland, selling prescription eyewear, sunglasses, contact lenses, and offering in-store optometry services. Closest direct competitor in the same geography with similar product mix.

Broad incumbents

• Fielmann: Europe's largest optical retailer with thousands of stores across the continent. Overlaps with Visilab in prescription eyewear retailing but operates a much broader international footprint and vertically integrated lens manufacturing.
• Apollo-Optik: Major German optical retail chain (part of GrandVision/EssilorLuxottica). Comparable in-store dispensing model selling prescription eyewear and contact lenses across a multi-country footprint.
• Specsavers: Global optical and audiology retail chain offering prescription glasses, contact lenses, and hearing aids with in-store clinical services. Highly comparable business model including the audiology adjacency.
• Pearle: European optical retail brand (part of GrandVision/EssilorLuxottica) operating in the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and other markets. Direct overlap in prescription eyewear retailing and in-store eye care services.

Emerging players

• Mister Spex: European online optical retailer combining e-commerce with partner stores. Directly competes with Visilab in prescription and sunglasses e-commerce, and represents the online-pure-play threat to physical retailers.
• Ace & Tate: European direct-to-consumer eyewear brand selling prescription glasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses online with growing physical presence. Represents the digitally-native, brand-led competitive threat to traditional optical retailers.

Regional players

• Optical Center: Large French optical retail chain. Operates a similar prescription eyewear and contact lens retail model but is geographically focused on France and does not directly compete in Switzerland.
• Synoptik: Scandinavian optical retail chain offering prescription eyewear, contact lenses, and in-store eye examinations. Comparable retail model with similar product mix and service orientation, but focused on Nordic markets.
• Smarteyes: Optical retail chain operating in Germany and Scandinavia with prescription eyewear, contact lenses, and in-store eye exams. Comparable physical-retail-led model but does not operate in Switzerland.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/visilabswitzerland
• Facebookfacebook.com/Visilab
• Instagraminstagram.com/visilabch
• Xx.com/visilab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Visilab