The session, “Scaling Innovation Globally: Smart Eyewear and Connected Retail,” brought together Alfredo Patron, EVP of Business Development at TeamViewer and John Luna, Executive Advisor at EssilorLuxottica, along with moderator Felice Miller, Global Supply Chain & Manufacturing Strategy Lead at Microsoft.
Together, they shared how EssilorLuxottica’s long-standing collaboration with TeamViewer—leveraging Microsoft Azure—has become a blueprint for digitalizing the retail experience at scale.
A global retail footprint ready for transformation
EssilorLuxottica, a global leader in eyewear and vision care, operates more than 18,000 retail stores across 150 countries. With brands like Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Persol, along with a growing portfolio of medical and smart eyewear solutions, the company requires highly consistent and reliable store operations.
In 2025, EssilorLuxottica launched Nuance Audio, a new division focused on smart eyewear with invisible hearing support. To help customers experience the technology in store, the company developed demo boxes deployed across more than 11,000 locations.
Managing these devices at such scale required centralized oversight and the ability to ensure that every demo unit performed reliably, without adding work for store teams.
Luna shared that this is where TeamViewer and Microsoft Azure play a critical role—providing the monitoring, maintenance, and behind-the-scenes stability needed to deliver a consistent customer experience worldwide.
Driving innovation across retail through strong partnerships
For EssilorLuxottica, the collaboration with TeamViewer and Microsoft is about building a digital infrastructure that supports both current operations and long-term innovation. With TeamViewer Tensor, the company has:
- Reduced downtime across thousands of retail devices
- Standardized digital experiences across global markets
- Accelerated deployment of new retail technologies
- Improved operational efficiency for store teams
- Positioned itself to introduce future innovations with confidence
The partnership shows how coordinated technology platforms can help global companies scale more quickly and deliver consistent, high-quality experiences for customers.
A shared vision for the future of retail
The panel closed with a forward-looking conversation about AI, automation, and the evolving role of connected devices in shaping next-generation retail. Patron highlighted three major shifts:
- Automated remediation of common IT issues through intelligent, self-healing systems
- Enhanced visibility into digital workplaces, enabling companies to understand how employees use technology and where productivity can improve
- More resilient connectivity across all environments, from retail stores to remote or low-bandwidth locations
These advancements, he explained, will help organizations boost productivity, improve employee experience, and create a more connected digital workplace across any location.
Luna added that AI will play a growing role in smart eyewear and health-focused wearables, providing real-time insights that support better wellness while remaining intuitive for consumers. He also pointed to opportunities for even more scalable, secure, and automated retail infrastructure as EssilorLuxottica continues expanding globally.
Together, the three organizations illustrated how cloud, connectivity, and AI can converge to create seamless, modern retail experiences and support the next wave of innovation.