EssilorLuxottica has launched a share buyback potentially worth more than US$932 million (€800 million), days after an heir to the eyewear group’s founder quit his management roles, as the company seeks to bolster investor confidence following a steep drop in its share price.

The announcement caps an eventful week for the French-Italian eyewear group, whose stock has fallen about 40% from its highs this year, and comes as it seeks to reassure investors following the departure of one of its founder’s heirs from senior management.

EssilorLuxottica said on Friday it had granted a mandate to an investment services provider to repurchase up to five million shares, depending on market conditions, a move it described as reflecting confidence in “its value creation and long-term prospects.” Shares rose as much as 3.8% in early Paris trading following the announcement.

The buyback follows the exit of Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, the fourth son of founder Leonardo Del Vecchio, who this week stepped down as Chief Strategy Officer and Chairman of Ray-Ban, after criticising the company’s management style as “distant” and “impersonal”. The younger Del Vecchio remains an active shareholder through family holding company Delfin, EssilorLuxottica’s largest investor with a 32.4% stake, and is pursuing his own entrepreneurial ventures.

EssilorLuxottica’s stock decline has left it with a market capitalisation of roughly US$86 billion. The company also faces growing competition in AI-powered eyewear, an area where it has established an early lead through its Ray-Ban Meta line. Meanwhile, Delfin has been caught in a wider governance and succession dispute among the eight shareholders who inherited equal 12.5% stakes following Del Vecchio’s death in 2022, encompassing disagreements over control, dividends and the future direction of the family holding company.