Fielmann : CSR Report 2023

Dear Shareholders,

dear Friends of the Company,

as a family business with social values, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is close to our hearts. The Fielmann Group not only serves its customers and employees but also assumes responsibility for society and the environment. Underscoring this commitment, the Executive Leadership of the Fielmann Group set up a dedicated CSR team in 2023 with appropriate headcount and budget reporting directly to our CFO. This way we not only ensure compliance within an increasingly complex regulatory framework across multiple conti- nents, but we make sure that progress is achieved on the issues that matter most to our customers and stakeholders.

While our Annual Report 2023 provides an overview of the financial success that we owe to our 28 million customers worldwide, this report transparently documents a wide range of non-financial indicators.

2023 saw us making great progress on our CSR agenda. While primary eye care services are a standard component of our industry's offering in the United States, in Continental Europe eyecare services are the domain of ophthalmologists. And yet, demographic change drives demand for eye care services across Central Europe while the number of ophthalmologists is decreasing. In Germany alone, thousands unnecessarily go blind every year. This number could be significantly reduced by means of regular eye health screenings conducted in collaboration between opticians and ophthalmologists. True to our purpose "We help everyone hear and see the beauty in the world", we began offering an innovative service in the reporting year: the Eye Health Service. Certified Fielmann opticians take images of the retina and measure the intraocular pressure with state-of-the-art equipment in Fielmann stores. Subsequently, the data is digitally transferred to ophthalmologists who conduct an assessment and provide customers with feedback within a few days. Customers with findings receive a recommendation to consult a local ophthalmologist or clinic for diagnostics and treatment. Together with our partners in ophthalmology we are proud to make eye health screenings easily and quickly accessible to ever more people across Europe. At the time of writing, more than 20,000 customers have already had their eye health checked in Fielmann stores. We expect to offer the service in more than 400 stores before the end of 2024 with the goal of serving more than 20,000 customers per month by year-end and more than 100,000 customers in total in 2024.

In the reporting year, we updated and expanded our existing Code of Conduct for all Fielmann Group employees to ensure we act responsibly and according to our values throughout our company. This update included regulatory changes in existing markets, for example the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (Lieferketten- sorgfaltspflichtengesetz) in Germany, and also accounts for our business in new geographies such as North America. We published our Declaration of Principles on Human Rights, updated our Code of Conduct for Suppliers and set up a whistleblower portal available in multiple languages.

Marc Fielmann, Chief Executive Officer

The Fielmann Group is constantly expanding its selection of highly attractive sustainable products. In 2023, we significantly extended our successful sustainability collection. We are proud to have attained the ISCC PLUS certificate. We also welcomed the initiatives of many of our partners that allowed us to additionally extend the number of sustainable models in our fashion brand assortment. All in all, our customers can now select from Fielmann's largest-ever, continuously growing selection of sustainable products.

Even small changes can have a big impact in the long term. Our employees' ideas on how we can make our products and logistics more sustainable are essential for us. On their initiative, we introduced reusable containers and removable labels in 2023, as well as cardboard filling material instead of plastic for transporting our products. This way, we are continuously becoming more sustainable.

Since 1986 nature conservation and environmental protection has been an integral part of our company's DNA as evident from our Environmental Pledge published that year: Every year since then we have planted a tree for every employee. To date, the Fielmann Group has donated a total of more than 1.7 million trees and bushes, mainly to be found in public parks, in front of schools, kindergartens, state buildings and publicly accessible forests. We are also committed to education and research as well as the preservation of historical monuments and culture. Our focus lies on long-term partnerships with charita- ble, regional organisations. And we regularly donate glasses. After parts of Turkey and Syria were ravaged by devastating earthquakes in February 2023, we provided the aid organisation "Hanseatic Help" with 10,000 pairs of safety glasses free of charge. They protected the eyes of the emergency workers from falling rocks, wood splinters, liquids and dust during the clearance work.

While our focus remains on making significant contributions to operating in a more resource-efficient and sustainable way, there will be some changes in our CSR activities in 2024. The report you are currently reading is the last one in its current form: From this year onward, our CSR reporting will be integrated into our Annual Report in line with the European Union's new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). As part of this, we are carrying out an extensive CO2 footprint analysis across the Fielmann Group as a basis for our goal of becoming CO2-neutral. Based on the CSRD, we are carrying out a climate risk assessment for our stores, manufacturing sites, logistics centres and head offices worldwide to identify the likelihood of future climate hazards and their potential impacts for our company.

It is up to us to take good care of our customers, our employees, the community and our environment. With this in mind, our sustainability report presents the outstanding work that our employees are accomplishing to make our family business even more responsible, resource-friendly and sustainable. Together, let us continue to help everyone hear and see the beauty in the world.

Hamburg, 18 April 2024

Marc Fielmann

Chief Executive Officer

GRI 2-22

Sustainable corporate governance

About the Fielmann Group

The Fielmann Group AG is a stock-listed family business based in Hamburg, Germany. As the most customer-centric provider of eyewear, contact lenses and hearing aids, we serve our 28 million active customers through an omnichannel platform comprised of digital sales channels as well as more than 1,000 retail stores. Our vertically integrated business model allows us to provide our customers with the most attractive product selection, outstanding service and the best value for money. We thrive thanks to our more than 23,000 committed and highly skilled employees, who embody our customer-centric philosophy. With our Vision 2025, we take this philosophy into the future and shape the optical industry for the benefit of consumers - without compromising on quality.

Business activities

The Fielmann Group AG, which has its Head Office at Weidestrasse 118 a, Hamburg, Germany, is the Group's listed parent company. We invest in and operate optical businesses and hearing aid companies. We furthermore manufacture and distribute visual aids and other optical products. These products include glasses, frames, lenses, sunglasses, protective glasses, contact lenses, related articles and accessories. We also sell merchandise of all kinds as well as hearing aids and their accessories. We keep expanding, are offering our customers even more personal service with new stores and are rolling out our omnichannel business model. As at 31 December 2023, we operated digital sales channels in most major markets as well as a total of 1,086 stores (previous year: 968). The number of stores also includes our acquisition in the USA, which was consolidated on 1 September 2023.

Fielmann Group AG stores 1

1 In the EU member states of Czech Republic, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and Eastern Europe, the Group operates 174 stores. These stores are represented in the "Others" segment. Due to the acquisition in the USA on 1 September 2023, 82 stores are included in the store figure, which are consolidated in turnover as of 2023. Further information is provided in the Annual Report.

Locations

Europe

 Fielmann  Optika Clarus  Óptica & Audiología Universitaria  Medical Óptica

USA

• SVS Vision

The main products of Fielmann Group

In line with our purpose "We help everyone hear and see the beauty in the world", al-most all products of the Fielmann Group offer social benefits as they enable good vision and hearing, thereby allowing greater participation in society and considerably reducing risks at work or in traffic. The Fielmann Group provides free eyesight and hearing tests in stores in order to help people detect their individual needs. Customers are assisted by trained opticians and hearing aid professionals using precise measuring technology to find the best visual or hearing aid for them. Our website highlights the properties of the various models so that customers can arrange a free appointment with a product already in mind.

By creating fashionable eyewear at no cost (Nulltarif), Fielmann ended the discrimination against people wearing statutory health insurance glasses and made glasses socially acceptable. This is Guenther Fielmann's historical achievement. Even after the discontinuation of the statutory health insurance funds, our customers still receive glasses with no additional payments thanks to the zero-cost insurance from Fielmann and Hanse-Merkur. People who do not take out the zero-cost insurance can get a fashionable pair of glasses with top-qualitysingle-vision lenses and a three-year warranty for as little as € 19. Our guidelines for responsible marketing oblige us to communicate the benefits of our products and services fairly and transparently.

The Fielmann Group regularly uses its expertise and resources to help people in need. We regularly collect and donate eyewear. After parts of Turkey and Syria were ravaged by devastating earthquakes in February 2023, we provided the aid organisation "Hanseatic Help" with 10,000 pairs of safety glasses free of charge. They protected the eyes of the emergency workers from falling rocks, wood splinters, liquids and dust during the clearance work.