UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                  SCHEDULE 14A
                                 (RULE 14A-101)

                     INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
                            SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

           PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(A) OF THE SECURITIES
                              EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

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[ ] Preliminary proxy statement
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    14a-6(e)(2))
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                            COLE NATIONAL CORPORATION
                (Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

                                       N/A
      (Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than Registrant)


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The following is a press release issued by Cole National and Luxottica Group,
S.p.A. on March 30, 2004:

[Luxottica Group S.p.A. Logo]                   [Cole National Corporation Logo]



      Luxottica Group and Cole National Corporation Announce Federal Trade
        Commission Request for Additional Information Relating to Merger

MILAN, ITALY, AND CLEVELAND, OHIO, MARCH 30, 2004 - LUXOTTICA GROUP S.P.A.
(NYSE: LUX; MTA: LUX) and COLE NATIONAL CORPORATION (NYSE: CNJ), today jointly
announced that they had received a request from the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) for additional information and documentary material with respect to the
proposed acquisition by Luxottica Group of Cole National through a merger.
Accordingly, the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust
Improvements Act has been extended until the 30th day after the date of
substantial compliance with the request by both parties, unless earlier
terminated by the FTC. Luxottica Group and Cole National have agreed to use
their best efforts to respond to the request as promptly as practicable.

As announced on January 26, 2004, Luxottica Group and Cole National have entered
into a merger agreement pursuant to which Cole National would become a
subsidiary of Luxottica Group, and Cole National's stockholders would receive
US$ 22.50 in cash for each share. Cole National has scheduled a Special Meeting
of Stockholders for April 20, 2004, to consider and vote upon the merger. The
merger is expected to close in the second half of 2004.


ABOUT LUXOTTICA GROUP S.P.A.
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Luxottica Group is the world leader in the design, manufacture, marketing and
distribution of prescription frames and sunglasses in mid- and premium-priced
categories. The Group's products are designed and manufactured in its six
facilities in Italy and one in the People's Republic of China. The lines
manufactured by Luxottica Group include over 2,450 styles in a wide array of
colours and sizes and are sold through 21 wholly-owned subsidiaries in the
United States, Canada, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Germany, the
United Kingdom, Brazil, Switzerland, Mexico, Belgium, Argentina, South Africa,
Finland, Austria, Norway, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia; two 75%-owned
subsidiaries in Israel and Poland; a 70%-owned subsidiary in Greece; three
51%-owned subsidiaries in the Netherlands, Turkey and Singapore, one 49%-owned
subsidiary in the Arab Emirates and one 44%-owned subsidiary in India.

In September 2003, Luxottica Group acquired OPSM, the leading eyewear retailer
in Australia. In March 2001, Luxottica Group acquired Sunglass Hut
International, a leading sunglass retailer with approximately 1,900 stores
worldwide. This followed the acquisitions of Bausch & Lomb sunglass business,
which includes the prestigious Ray-Ban(R), Revo(R), ArnetteTM and Killer Loop(R)
brands, in June 1999, and LensCrafters, the largest optical retail chain in
North America, in May 1995. For fiscal 2003, Luxottica Group posted net sales
and net income respectively of EUR 2,824.0 and EUR 267.3 million. Additional
information on the company is available on the web at www.luxottica.com.


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ABOUT COLE NATIONAL

Cole National Corporation's vision business, together with Pearle franchisees,
has 2,197 locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and
includes Cole Managed Vision, one of the largest managed vision care benefit
providers with multiple provider panels and nearly 20,000 practitioners. Cole's
personalized gift business, Things Remembered, serves customers through 728
locations nationwide, catalogs, and the Internet at www.thingsremembered.com.
Cole also has a 21% interest in Pearle Europe, which has 1,487 optical stores in
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Norway, the
Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Sweden.

Cole National filed a definitive proxy statement containing information about
the proposed merger with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
(the "SEC") on March 15, 2004, which stockholders are urged to read because it
contains important information. Stockholders may obtain, free of charge, a copy
of the definitive proxy statement and other documents filed by Cole National
with the SEC at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. In addition, documents filed
with the SEC by Cole National will be available free of charge from the Company.

Cole National and its directors and executive officers and certain other of its
employees may be soliciting proxies from stockholders of Cole National in favor
of the proposed transaction. Information concerning the participants in the
proxy solicitation is set forth in the preliminary proxy statement as filed with
the SEC.


SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
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Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward looking
statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Such statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those which are anticipated. Such risks
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks that the merger will
not be completed, risks that stockholder approval may not be obtained,
legislative or regulatory developments that could have the effect of delaying or
preventing the merger, fluctuations in exchange rates, economic and weather
factors affecting consumer spending, the ability to successfully introduce and
market new products, the ability to effectively integrate recently acquired
businesses, the ability to successfully launch initiatives to increase sales and
reduce costs, the availability of correction alternatives to prescription
eyeglasses, as well as other political, economic and technological factors and
other risks referred to in the respective companies' filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made as of the
date hereof, and neither Luxottica Group nor Cole National assumes any
obligation to update them.


CONTACTS
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LUXOTTICA GROUP S.P.A.                                 COLE NATIONAL CORPORATION
Sabina Grossi, Director, Investor Relations         Joseph Gaglioti
Alessandra Senici, Investor Relations               Tel.: +1 330-486-3100
INVESTORRELATIONS@LUXOTTICA.COM
Tel.: +39-02-8633-4665
E-mail: alessandrasenici@luxottica.com                 KEKST AND COMPANY
                                                    Victoria Weld/Ruth Pachman
                                                    Tel.: +1 212-521-4800