Sunglass Hut International
Encyclopedia
Sunglass Hut is an international retailer of sunglasses
and sunglass accessories founded in Miami, Florida
in 1971. Sunglass Hut is part of the Italian-based Luxottica Group, the world’s largest eyewear company. As of December 31 2008, the Luxottica Group operated 2,286 stores worldwide, most of those as part of the Sunglass Hut brand. Sunglass Hut stores are located in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa,the Middle East and India.
Sunglass Hut continued to grow, and in 1986 Ziff sold a 75% stake in Sunglass Hut to Connecticut
investment firm Kidd, Kamm & Co. for $US35-million. Ziff retained the company’s existing management team and shifted part ownership to his son, Dean. Following the partial acquisition, the business was incorporated under the name Sunglass Hut International, Inc.
Ziff retired from Sunglass Hut in 1989. He and his family retained a 25 percent stake in the business, but were no longer involved in its day-to-day operation. They retained the stake until 1991, when the company's annual sales surpassed $100 million, and the Ziff family sold the portion of Sunglass Hut that remained in their control.
In 1993, Sunglass Hut International, Inc. became a public company
, with an initial public offering of US$70-million, and by 1996, Sunglass Hut possessed a 30 percent share of the sunglass market in the United States. The company also began selling watches under the names ‘Watch Station’, ‘Watch World’, and as combined Sunglass Hut-Watch Station stores.
In February 2000, the Luxottica Group acquired Sunglass Hut, paying US$653 million and taking possession of 1,300 Sunglass Hut stores, 430 Sunglass Hut-Watch Station combination stores, and 228 stores that operated under either the Watch Station or Watch World banner.
Under Luxottica's control, Sunglass Hut repositioned its brand identity to emphasize the fashionability of the sunglasses it sold. The repositioning began in 2003, and its current inception is the ‘Put Them On’ positioning now used by the Sunglass Hut brand worldwide.
Sunglass Hut store types include normal retail stores and shopping centre kiosks, retailers in airports, hotels and outlet centres, and premium ‘global’ stores, which offer customers an enriched shopping experience. Sunglass Hut has also entered into a partnership with Macy’s to open stores within their department stores.
Sunglass Hut has entered a number of new and growing markets in recent years to satisfy the demand of the emerging middle class in developing nations in Asia and the Middle East. In the last five years, Sunglass Hut stores have opened in Australia, China, Thailand
, India, the United Arab Emirates
, Bahrain
and Saudi Arabia
. In 2011, they continued to grow within Central and South America, opening up stores in Mexico and Brasil.
created a one-week-only Prada concept store in the Rockefeller Centre, New York.
In a bid to increase its fashion credentials, Sunglass Hut has sponsored a number of high-profile fashion events over the years, including the Miami Swim Show.
Sunglass Hut also teamed up with Nicaraguan
artist Chris Mendoza in November 2008 to create individualized pairs of Ray-Ban Wayfarers on location at Sunglass Hut's SoHo
store in New York. Other artistic collaborations include a collection by well-know graffiti artist Claw Money
.
In 2010, an exclusive to Sunglass Hut only RayBan Rare Print was launched featuring American Graphic Design Artist Matt W. Moore. This series launched some of Matt's work in graphic design and artistry. The series even made a huge splash being featured in a big billboard painting by the artist himself in SoHo.
In an effort to gain more from Social Media outlets, Sunglass Hut launched a "Full-time Fabulous" contest in 2010, bloggers, fashionistas, and customers were all invited to try out to be the next "it girl" for Sunglass Hut, N.A. The contest went for weeks showcasing the top bloggers of the week, being voted by the fans who were able to visit the Sunglass Hut website. These blog-offs were to show what each blogger can do to earn their rightful place within the Sunglass Hut Family. Eventually the winner was chosen and given to a then native New Yorker - Kristy Elena. Her fabulous prize included a 1 year contract with Sunglass Hut to write in articles about the brand and sunglasses. The glasses were those that were to be featured in the next few months and were able to show fans all over how to fully accessorize their wardrobe. Other prizes include but were not limited to - a furnished apartment in NYC, trips to Fashion Week, New Sunglasses, etc.
By hosting this contest Sunglass Hut embarked on their Social Media journey and have not looked back.
) to a mobile phone.
Sunglasses
Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...
and sunglass accessories founded in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
in 1971. Sunglass Hut is part of the Italian-based Luxottica Group, the world’s largest eyewear company. As of December 31 2008, the Luxottica Group operated 2,286 stores worldwide, most of those as part of the Sunglass Hut brand. Sunglass Hut stores are located in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa,the Middle East and India.
History
The first Sunglass Hut store opened in 1971 when optometrist Sanford Ziff set up in a freestanding kiosk in Miami's Dadeland Mall. The success of this kiosk prompted Ziff to open other Sunglass Hut locations in Miami, and by 1986, Ziff had opened approximately 100 Sunglass Hut outlets, achieving sales of $24 million a year.Sunglass Hut continued to grow, and in 1986 Ziff sold a 75% stake in Sunglass Hut to Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
investment firm Kidd, Kamm & Co. for $US35-million. Ziff retained the company’s existing management team and shifted part ownership to his son, Dean. Following the partial acquisition, the business was incorporated under the name Sunglass Hut International, Inc.
Ziff retired from Sunglass Hut in 1989. He and his family retained a 25 percent stake in the business, but were no longer involved in its day-to-day operation. They retained the stake until 1991, when the company's annual sales surpassed $100 million, and the Ziff family sold the portion of Sunglass Hut that remained in their control.
In 1993, Sunglass Hut International, Inc. became a public company
Public company
This is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
, with an initial public offering of US$70-million, and by 1996, Sunglass Hut possessed a 30 percent share of the sunglass market in the United States. The company also began selling watches under the names ‘Watch Station’, ‘Watch World’, and as combined Sunglass Hut-Watch Station stores.
In February 2000, the Luxottica Group acquired Sunglass Hut, paying US$653 million and taking possession of 1,300 Sunglass Hut stores, 430 Sunglass Hut-Watch Station combination stores, and 228 stores that operated under either the Watch Station or Watch World banner.
Under Luxottica's control, Sunglass Hut repositioned its brand identity to emphasize the fashionability of the sunglasses it sold. The repositioning began in 2003, and its current inception is the ‘Put Them On’ positioning now used by the Sunglass Hut brand worldwide.
Stores and locations
Sunglass Hut operates 2,000 retail outlets in 20 countries. 1,562 in North America, 157 in Australia, 44 in New Zealand, 15 in Asia, 80 in South Africa, 81 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, 33 in the Middle East, and 23 in India.Sunglass Hut store types include normal retail stores and shopping centre kiosks, retailers in airports, hotels and outlet centres, and premium ‘global’ stores, which offer customers an enriched shopping experience. Sunglass Hut has also entered into a partnership with Macy’s to open stores within their department stores.
Sunglass Hut has entered a number of new and growing markets in recent years to satisfy the demand of the emerging middle class in developing nations in Asia and the Middle East. In the last five years, Sunglass Hut stores have opened in Australia, China, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, India, the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. In 2011, they continued to grow within Central and South America, opening up stores in Mexico and Brasil.
Strategic partnerships
Sunglass Hut has sought to increase sales by creating strategic partnerships with designer fashion labels. In April 2009, Sunglass Hut and PradaPrada
Prada S.p.A. is an Italian fashion label specializing in luxury goods for men and women , founded by Mario Prada.-Foundations:...
created a one-week-only Prada concept store in the Rockefeller Centre, New York.
In a bid to increase its fashion credentials, Sunglass Hut has sponsored a number of high-profile fashion events over the years, including the Miami Swim Show.
Sunglass Hut also teamed up with Nicaraguan
Nicaraguan
Nicaraguans are people inhabiting in, originating or having significant heritage from Nicaragua. Most Nicaraguans live in Nicaragua, although there is also a significant Nicaraguan diaspora, particularly in Costa Rica and the United States with smaller communities in other countries around the world...
artist Chris Mendoza in November 2008 to create individualized pairs of Ray-Ban Wayfarers on location at Sunglass Hut's SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
store in New York. Other artistic collaborations include a collection by well-know graffiti artist Claw Money
Claw Money
Claw Money is a New York-based graffiti writer turned fashion designer and author.Claw Money, whose first name is Claudia, was born into a Jewish family in Fresh Meadows, Queens and Roslyn, New York and attended the Fashion Institute of Technology until she dropped out in 1986.Through the late...
.
In 2010, an exclusive to Sunglass Hut only RayBan Rare Print was launched featuring American Graphic Design Artist Matt W. Moore. This series launched some of Matt's work in graphic design and artistry. The series even made a huge splash being featured in a big billboard painting by the artist himself in SoHo.
In an effort to gain more from Social Media outlets, Sunglass Hut launched a "Full-time Fabulous" contest in 2010, bloggers, fashionistas, and customers were all invited to try out to be the next "it girl" for Sunglass Hut, N.A. The contest went for weeks showcasing the top bloggers of the week, being voted by the fans who were able to visit the Sunglass Hut website. These blog-offs were to show what each blogger can do to earn their rightful place within the Sunglass Hut Family. Eventually the winner was chosen and given to a then native New Yorker - Kristy Elena. Her fabulous prize included a 1 year contract with Sunglass Hut to write in articles about the brand and sunglasses. The glasses were those that were to be featured in the next few months and were able to show fans all over how to fully accessorize their wardrobe. Other prizes include but were not limited to - a furnished apartment in NYC, trips to Fashion Week, New Sunglasses, etc.
By hosting this contest Sunglass Hut embarked on their Social Media journey and have not looked back.
eCommerce
Sunglass Hut entered the world of eCommerce in 1998 when it added the ability to purchase sunglasses to its US website, sunglasshut.com.Technology
In 2009, Sunglass Hut introduced a series of in-store photo booths, called Social Sun, that allow customers to take a picture of themselves trying on sunglasses in store, as well as email the photos or send them by multimedia message (MMSMultimedia Messaging Service
Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length.The most popular use is to send photographs from...
) to a mobile phone.
In popular culture
Sunglass Hut’s fashion-oriented positioning has seen it mentioned on a number of popular fashion blogs, including Slaves to Fashion, complex.com, psfk and Splendicity. Sunglass Hut also appeared in an episode of the animated series American Dad.Put Them On
Sunglass Hut's new brand identity, ‘Put Them On’, launched internationally in 2008. The campaign has appeared over 20 countries in the form of press, radio, outdoor, direct marketing, online and point of sale advertising.| Type | Public (Luxottica Group S.p.A. (MAT:LUX, NYSE:LUX) |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Headquarters | Milan, Italy |
| Industry | Retail - Specialty |
| Products | Sunglasses, watches, sunglass accessories |
| Revenue | $679.7 million (2004) |
| Employees | 9,199 approx. |
External links
- http://www.sunglasshut.com
- http://www.sunglasshut.co.uk
- http://www.sunglasshut.com.au
- http://www.sunglasshut.co.nz
- http://www.sunglasshut.co.za
- http://www.raybansunglasses.uk.com
- http://www.raybans.uk.com