Within the UK market for sunglasses as a whole, the leading player is Fabris Lane in terms of retail value sales. The company was established in 1994 with its own collections. As well as its own-label sunglasses and newer range of optical frames, which are all made in Italy, it is a major supplier of own-label to mid-market retail outlets, and is also the UK distributor of Versace and Versus eyewear. The company aims to achieve fashion and quality in the middle to upper-middle segments of the market with its two brands: Fabris Lane Made in Italy (at £25-49) and Mondo UK (£15-25).
Although only Fabris Lane's licensed ranges qualify on the basis of retail price for inclusion in the premium sector, strong growth has also taken place in the price band just below that at £25-49.99. Fabris Lane already completely dominated that price band anyway and has further consolidated its position with still stronger distribution through department stores in particular, based on its reputation for quality combined with fashionable design. The company also has some distribution into opticians via its optical frames and premium ranges.
In mid-2000, Blue Gem acquired Marby . Blue Gem produces sunglasses under the Kangol and Polaroid brands, with the STORM brand launched in February 2002. The Kangol range includes price points of around £60 per unit, while retail prices in the STORM range are expected to reach £99 per unit. Blue Gem also produces own-label sunglasses.
The US Foster Grant operates wholly outside the premium sector.
The two largest players in the premium sector by volume are Luxottica and Oakley . Within this sector Italian companies are probably the most prominent, while others are based in the US and Austria. In sales terms, the stronger individual brands include Oakley , Ray Ban , Revo , Nike , bollè and Police , while the larger selling of the designer brands include Gucci , Versace , Calvin Klein , Dolce & Gabbana , and their diffusion lines.
Within the premium sunglasses sector, there has been a continuing process of consolidation since 2000, mirroring what is happening in the broader luxury goods market. De Rigo acquired the Dollond & Aitchison optical chain; Marcolin acquired Cèbè the French sports specialist; and the Italian Filos Group had acquired United Optical from Benetton . In addition, in a particularly significant move, Luxottica bought the sunglasses division of Bausch & Lomb in April 1999. Since then there has been a further step along the same road with Luxottica's purchase of Sunglass Hut International in April 2001.
The great majority of the more important players in this market thrive on the basis of their licensed products, whether or not they also market their own-label and whether they are active in the optical frames sector.
The Italian company Luxottica is a world leader in the manufacture and distribution of premium sunglasses and optical frames. In terms of its sunglasses, the company has a diverse portfolio across premium brands, covering sports and high fashion as well as more classic quality names such as Persol . In addition to its manufacturing strength, the company has also gained considerable control over its own retail distribution with its ownership of the US's largest optical retailers, LensCrafters , since 1995, and recently purchased Sunglass Hut in 2001.
Luxottica's largest brand is still Ray Ban , available in classic styling and new lines introduced each year and also including sports models, both specific and general. The continuing success of the brand relies on quality and continued innovation and, while it now faces considerably greater competition in the premium sector, volume sales continue to grow, backed as they are by consistent advertising support. Ray-Ban is estimated to account for between 20-25% of the premium sector.
Oakley has had notable success in building sales of its sunglasses with their strong sports associations and claims 18% of the US premium sunglasses market. The company has also built up an extensive associated product portfolio including optical frames, footwear, clothing and watches. While its equivalent share in the UK is considerably lower, Oakley has shown similar success here.
During 2001, the brands business through Sunglass Hut outlets was considerably reduced with problems developing between Oakley and Luxottica with regards to Oakley's parallel wish to gain distribution through other retailers for its entire product range. This disagreement has since been settled which should benefit both companies.
Sàfilo is one of the largest companies in eyewear, growing in size via acquisition as well as planned organic growth. It bought not only the Italian sunglasses specialist Oxsol , but three US concerns since the mid-1980s. The company has increased the number of designer names that it markets from just one - Gianfranco Ferre - in the mid-1980s to almost 15 today. The newest of these is Yves St Laurent , which was launched in January 2002.
Marcolin , the major Italian group, acquired the French Cèbè company and the US company Creative Optics in 2001. The first acquisition gave Marcolin an expertise in sports sunglasses in particular and the second doubled its presence in the US market. These latest developments have opened the way to new licensing agreements, for instance for a range of sports sunglasses for The North Face . The company also makes a range of US brands such as FAO Schwartz .
Marchon claims to be the world's largest privately owned producer and distributor of fashion and technologically advanced eyewear and sunwear. Headquartered in New York, all the company's products are designed in Italy and made in Italy, Japan and Hong Kong. They offer a range of sunglasses, from adult and young adult fashion through sports and activewear to children's, eg Disney.
