Finance: These 2 companies control most of the sunglasses bought in the US

The Italian eyeglass conglomerate Luxottica is responsible for 60% of all sunglasses sales in the US. Safilo is next with just 6% market share.

As you walk into a sunglass store, you may be overwhelmed by the wide variety of brands you have to choose from.

But many of those brands are actually owned by the same company, the Italian eyeglass conglomerate Luxottica. Luxottica owns nearly every popular sunglass brand sold worldwide, as well as Sunglass Hut itself, where much of that eyewear is for sale. Luxottica's brands include icons like Ray-Bans and Persol in addition to a large portion of fashion brands that have licensing deals with the company.

Luxottica is so dominant, it accounts for 60% of all sunglass sales in the US, according to IBISWorld. The next largest is Safilo, which holds a comparatively small share of 6%.

Hayley Peterson contributed reporting to this article.

The Italian eyeglass conglomerate Luxottica is responsible for 60% of all sunglasses sales in the US. Safilo is next with just 6% market share. Read Full Story