Glimpses
BOLLÉ BRANDS ACQUIRES
SPY OPTIC SAFILO, HUGO BOSS RENEW
AGREEMENT
Following the acquisition of Bollé Brands
by A&M Capital Europe in August 2018, the
company has announced the acquisition of the
SPY Optic brand. Safilo Group and HUGO BOSS, one of the
leading fashion houses in the upper-premium
segment of the global apparel market,
have announced the renewal of the licence
agreement for BOSS and HUGO optical and
sunglass collections until Dec. 31, 2025.
SPY Optic joins the existing brand portfolio of
Bollé, Bollé Safety, Serengeti, Cébé and H2Optix
and signals a strong commitment to playing
a leading role in the premium performance
sports and sports lifestyle eyewear and helmets
markets.
Founded in 1994 and based in Southern
California, SPY Optic designs, markets and
distributes premium sunglasses, goggles,
helmets and prescription eyewear.
The SPY Optic brand, symbolized by the distinct
“cross” logo has a strong brand awareness in
its action sports segment, with a reputation
for high-quality products, style, and innovation,
most notably showcased in its Happy Lens
technology.
SPY Optic is a cutting-edge disruptive brand
perceived as cool, irreverent and high quality
with high net promoter scores exceeding those
of peer brands.
SPY Optic is highly complementary to Bollé
Brands in terms of brand proposition, channel
mix, and geographic presence. The combination
will significantly bolster Bollé Brands’ scale
in North America, will allow SPY Optic to
benefit from increased investment in product
development and distribution, and will facilitate
an international expansion of the SPY Optic
brand beyond its current footprint.
34 Optical Prism | November 2019
Angelo Trocchia, CEO of Safilo Group, says: “This
renewal builds on the strength of a trustful and
long-lasting business partnership. The BOSS and
HUGO collections further reinforce our premium
fashion proposition, giving us the opportunity to
accelerate this segment’s expansion by offering
to our customers two powerful brands with
extremely clear and relevant positionings aimed
at differing consumer targets and geographies,
with products that translate the quality and
style of the BOSS and HUGO brands.”
“We are delighted to continue our partnership
in the eyewear category with Safilo. Over
the years, Safilo has demonstrated that they
understand our brand DNA perfectly, translating
our values into a product which truly represents
us,” says CBO Ingo Wilts. “Safilo has the scale
and the capabilities to implement our strategic
vision to continually add value to our brands also
through product categories such as eyewear,
both optical and sun, which continue to gain
importance as a fashion accessory, especially
in the digital world where we can count on our
very engaged, digital-savvy global community.”