One of the most reputable opticians in the world, France's Essilor has announced new investments in Turkey. The firm, which had retreated from Turkey during the 2001 crisis, started investing in Turkey once again in 2012 due to the recession in Europe. Now, they have announced they are purchasing a 65 percent stake in Merve Optik after becoming shareholders of two other Turkish companies, Yeda Tora and Opak. Merve Optik, which was founded in 1986, has a production facility in Beylikdüzü and 12 branches in six regions of Turkey from Istanbul to Malatya. However, the largest network of the company is abroad with 22 stores in 19 countries on three continents - Asia, Europe and Africa.