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Tag: Safilo

  • David Beckham launches eyewear line with Safilo

    David Beckham launches eyewear line with Safilo

    Football legend David Beckham has launched his own eyewear collection, Eyewear by David Beckham, in partnership with Safilo Group.

    Made in Italy, the collection features both optical frames and sunglasses with clean, modern silhouettes and a focus on “timeless” frame styles. His collection has been described by critics as “contemporary with traditional craftsmanship.”

    Last year, Safilo Group and David Beckham signed a global 10-year agreement to license for sunglasses and prescription glasses.

    “Safilo has a long history of creating high-quality eyewear brands. I wear sunglasses all the time and this is a category that I love,” said Beckham. “So, it’s important to me to work with a partner who cares as much about the design and craftsmanship of the product as I do.”

    Eyewear by David Beckham’s Spring/Summer 2020 Collection will be available to buy at selected retailers from March.

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  • Safilo appoints new executive to head e-commerce

    Safilo appoints new executive to head e-commerce

    Eyewear firm Safilo has appointed Andrea Bulgarelli to the newly created role of digital transformation director, as the Dutch-owned Italian company sets its sights on renovating its e-commerce infrastructure by 2020. An e-commerce fashion veteran, Bulgarelli comes from fellow Italian firm Benetton, which he joined in 2015 as group digital business director.

    Prior to his two year stint at Benetton, Bulgarelli was pivotal in the creation of e-commerce sites at luxury fashion Max Mara from 2007 to 2015, serving as the group global digital and e-commerce director for eight years. He came to Max Mara as operations and innovation director, after two year’s experience in sales.

    He is a graduate in telecommunications engineering and has an MBA in business administration.

    In his new role at Safilo, Bulgarelli will oversee the management of all consumer-facing touchpoints including merchandising planning, direct e-commerce, digital marketing, content production and CRM – all functions that he performed, among others, at Benetton.

    His appointment underpins Safilo’s direct-to-consumer strategy currently being executed, within its industrial plan for 2020.

    “Digital initiatives are at the heart of our growth and development strategy […] thanks to Andrea Bulgarelli’s leadership, we will finally be able to accelerate our e-commerce activities and our digital transformation,” explained Safilo CEO Angelo Trocchia.

    However, Safilo’s most recent financials were far from rosy. On November 3, the group reported third-quarter revenues of €221.5 million, down 9% at current exchange rates compared to the same period in 2017.

    The situation was similar over the first nine months of the year, with revenue down 9.7% to €713.7 million, compared to €790.5 million in 2017.

    Founded in 1934 by Guglielmo Tabacchi in Pieve di Cador, Safilo Group today designs, produces and distributes prescription frames, sunglasses, sports eyewear and helmets under its own five house brands and 32 licensed brands including Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Moschinoand Tommy Hilfiger and is owned by Hal Holdings since 2008, the Dutch investment firm which holds 37.23% of the company.

     

  • Safilo appoints new CEO

    Safilo appoints new CEO

    Eyewear manufacturer Safilo has appointed a new CEO this week, following the sudden departure Luisa Delgado, who relinquishes her role at the Italian firm for personal reasons, as of 28 February 2018.

    The maker and distribution of luxury sunglasses has named Andrea Trocchia as its new CEO. Trocchia will become director of the Safilo group on 1 April 2018.

    Until a new CEO is appointed, Safilo’s President Eugenio Ranzelli will take charge of the business in the interim, Safilo said in a press release. The firm added that Delgado’s contract was terminated by mutual agreement with the group’s board.

    Delgado’s severance package will be worth €1 million, plus vested stock options and other non-monetary benefits.

    Trocchia will join Safilo Group S.p.a. as a director at the beginning of April. He will be included in the list put forward by Multibrands Italy BV, the eyewear group’s holding company, to be appointed CEO of Safilo Group S.p.a. at the next AGM on 24 April 2018.

    Trocchia was previously chairman and CEO of Unilever Italia, a role he held since 2013. Before this, he was chairman and CEO of Unilever Israel. After an MBA at the STOA’/MIT in Naples and a PhD in aeronautical engineering at the University La Sapienza in Rome, Trocchia began his career at Unilever in 1991, in the supply chain and sales departments.

    Safilo has been experiencing difficulties for several quarters. It claims to be still affected by the termination of its Gucci eyewear licence, which took place in December 2016.

    At the end of the 2017 financial year, consolidated net sales were €1.047 billion, down €194 million (-15.6%) at constant exchange rates compared to the 2016 financial year. At the time of reporting last months, Safilo said the “sales decrease reflects both the transformation of the Gucci licence into a supply contract, for a total of €155 million (-12%), and the deployment of a new IT system for the global management of orders and stocks at the start of the year.”

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  • Safilo signs distribution deal for Thailand and Cambodia

    Safilo signs distribution deal for Thailand and Cambodia

    Safilo continues to expand internationally, boosting its presence in Asia.

    The Italian eyewear manufacturer has signed an exclusive distribution agreement for Thailandand Cambodia, adding to its international distribution network, now extending to 42 countries.

    Safilo, which is controlled by Dutch investment fund Hal, issued a press release announcing the signing of the deal with Supreme Eyewear, a major local distributor with a 40-year presence in the business. The term of the agreement was not indicated.

    “The distribution agreement for Thailand and Cambodia marks a further step in the development of the Asia Pacific region. It supports the acceleration in the growth of Safilo’s Emerging Markets unit, as per Safilo’s 2020 Strategy,” wrote the group, which hopes as a result to earn “significant market share in highly interesting countries.”

    Supreme Eyewear will distribute all of the brands featured in Safilo’s portfolio – more than 30 labels – from the most accessible ones, like Polaroid and Havaianas, to premium names such as Elie Saab, Dior, Fendi, Jimmy Choo, Givenchy and soon also Moschino.

    Through this geographic redeployment, Safilo is seeking to compensate for the loss of the Gucci license, which still weighs heavily on its financial performance, as shown by the third quarter 2017 , which recorded a revenue of €245.1 million, equivalent to a 14.9% shortfall (-12.3% at constant exchange rates) compared to the same period a year earlier.

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  • Safilo Group signs exclusive distribution agreement with Seeone in South Korea

    Safilo Group signs exclusive distribution agreement with Seeone in South Korea

    Italian eyewear specialist Safilo Group has signed an exclusive distribution agreement in South Korea with Seeone, a respected local commercial eyewear operator.

    The new partnership is effective from 1 February. However, Safilo’s Korean duty free business will continue to be managed through the group’s global travel retail organisation and its local agents.

    Safilo said the distribution deal is in line with the company’s plans to change its local affiliate business model in Korea where it aims to further develop its brand portfolio.

    Seeone stated it would ensure a “seamless transition and smooth continuation of customer service to all optical retailers for all Safilo brands, including supply of products and after sales service”.

    Safilo Group CEO Luisa Delgado said: “We welcome Seeone to Safilo’s worldwide partner network, where our over 50 exclusive partners across the world contribute their unique commercial capabilities and local market leadership to Safilo’s growth strategy, serving the local retailers on our behalf.

    “Seeone brings an excellent track record of service and understanding of the Korean customers trade dynamics. We share a mutual belief in growing optical brands through quality distribution and operations, and relevant product design.

    “South Korea has for Safilo a strategic global importance, as a domestic market, design trend setter for Asia and worldwide, and as an important Asian tourist destination. We are therefore committed to building an effective business in Korea for the longer term,” Delgado concluded.

    Seeone CEO Sungjoo Ko commented: “This partnership is important for us. Safilo’s brand portfolio covers all market segments, with high quality eyewear. Their products are innovative and they have a history of leading craftsmanship and product design. With them, we see important growth opportunities that will strengthen our business in Korea.

    “Safilo is the world’s second global eyewear leader. We will represent them with rigour and quality in Korea’s independent optical channel.”

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  • LVMH will expand to eyewear business

    LVMH will expand to eyewear business

    Luxury brand group LVMH is thinking about taking its eyewear business in-house.

    This could be a further blow for Italian eyewear group Safilo, which lost the Armani licence in 2013 and those for the Kering Group labels (Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, Gucci and Saint Laurent) at the end of 2014, reports CPP-Luxury.com.

    Italian investment bank Mediobanca has published a report about Safilo, owned by Dutch investment fund Hal, focussing on its announcement that its licence agreement with Celine has been terminated while its contract with Christian Dior has been extended until 2020. The licence for Celine’s eyeglass collections – the LVMH label joined Safilo’s portfolio in 2012 – ends on December 31.

    While the licence agreement for the design, production and distribution of eyeglasses and sunglasses for Dior and Dior Homme, also part of LVMH’s galaxy, has been extended until the end of 2020, Mediobanca says the extension is for three years only, not for seven years as was the case for the previous contract, renewed in September 2010.

    The bank’s analysts noted that the standard renewable licence contract is for five years.

    “We believe markets are much more volatile than in the past, and renegotiating contracts on a more frequent basis may be to the advantage of both parties,” says the bank. “But we think this could also signal a change in LVMH’s approach as the group has the financial strength to internalise its eyewear business, as Kering did a few years ago.”

    LVMH has been managing the eyewear collections for its leading brand, Louis Vuitton, internally for several years.

    Mediobanca estimates the sales for Celine and Dior eyeglasses collections are worth respectively €40 million (US$41 million) and €200 million. As well as these, there are the sales for the eyewear lines of Fendi, Givenchy and Marc Jacobs, all licensed to Safilo. Altogether, LVMH brands are worth €350 million in annual revenue for the eyewear group, equivalent to nearly 30 per cent of its total revenue, which Mediobanca pegs at €1.2 billion.

    The bank report also highlighted the Safilo portfolio’s “marked reliance on one single client”, plus the weakness of its own brands.