Following the announcement of Kering Eyewear’s acquisition of Hawaiian sunglasses brand Maui Jim, the luxury eyewear company hosted an online press briefing hosted by Kering Eyewear President & CEO Roberto Vedovotto.
The briefing was attended by The Moodie Davitt Report from the travel retail media and other select titles. Opening the briefing, Vedovotto commented: “This acquisition represents another major milestone in the successful expansion strategy of Kering Eyewear.
Looking back at the beginnings of Kering Eyewear, Vedovotto said: “Together with Kering Group, I founded Kering Eyewear in 2014 with a group of talented managers to develop in-house eyewear expertise for the Group’s brands. We’ve come a long way since we started. We went from three people and now, we have over 3,500 people.
“We were the first to make this move in the industry. To make a specific, powerful entity to manage and develop this key category in our business. It was the right move and the right time and Kering Eyewear has gone from strength to strength since its inception.”
He added, “Following our partnership with Richemont in 2017 and the acquisition of Lindberg last year, we are branching out our offer into a very high-end segment of the market. With Maui Jim, we will have a highly differentiated product offer. We are busy building Kering Eyewear’s future and we are very much looking forward to working with the Maui Jim team.”
Commenting on expansion plans for Maui Jim, Vedovotto said: “Maui Jim is strong in travel retail and in North America and we believe there is huge potential to expand the brand in Europe and Asia Pacific. Maui Jim is a very complementary brand in terms of presence and we are stronger together.”
During the briefing, Vedovotto noted that Kering Eyewear will leverage Maui Jim’s lens technologies for other Kering brands. “We will adopt Maui Jim’s innovative lens technology to our brands such as Gucci and Cartier, so consumers can get the full eyewear package.”
The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie asked Vedovotto how Kering Eyewear plans to balance its mix of Kering Group brands and acquisitions in the future. Vedovotto said: “We now have a very balanced portfolio. With this acquisition, we have completed our offering in the high-end segment of eyewear.
“What we care about is keeping our customers happy. In terms of acquisitions, if we believe we are missing a segment, we try to fill it. We have the optical specialist Lindberg, we have the timeless brand Cartier, high-fashion brands like Gucci and Saint Laurent, and we are happy now to have Maui Jim, which is timeless and has a loyal customer base.
“Lindberg has the highest-quality frames you could ever buy. They do 25% of their revenues in optical frames, and we have the capability to grow that and one day even expand the brand into sunglasses. Maui Jim does the same percentage in sunglasses and is strong in America.
“The brand gives us a huge opportunity to expand there and our capabilities allows us to bring Maui Jim to different geographies and channels. Through Maui Jim, we can also enhance our prescription frames offer,” Vedovotto added.
“A Maui Jim customer has 5-7 pairs of Maui Jim sunglasses,” he explained. “They are so loyal to this brand. Our priority is to grow our super luxury brands in Kering and Richemont and further expand Lindberg and Maui Jim. We have a lot of work to do and we are very excited.
Offering his views on the overall vision for Maui Jim, Vedovotto said: “Maui Jim has historically been a strong performer in travel retail and the US, with 85% of revenues from North America. However, the brand has a small business in Europe, Asia Pacific and the rest of the world. Kering Eyewear is very strong in Asia and Europe so there are plenty of opportunities to expand from a geographical standpoint. With travel retail’s recovery underway, Maui Jim will play a super big role in growing the channel for sure.”
Note: The Moodie Davitt Report’s portfolio of titles included Sunglasses Curated, a regular eNewsletter series that offers a selection of stories focused on the key sunglasses & eyewear category in travel retail and beyond.
As with all Moodie Davitt Report media, Sunglasses Curated is free of charge. If you would like to be added to its mailing list (or to those for any other Moodie Davitt titles), please email Kristyn@MoodieDavittReport.com headed ‘Curated Sunglasses’.
