Sunglasses for fashion

Sunglasses may be seen as ever more firmly embedded as part of the accessories sector. This means that not only do haute couture and increasingly numerous other fashion designers include them as part of their product range, as has long been the case, but the market includes an ever more diverse range of accessory or clothing specialists now including sunglasses within their portfolio. That said, such brands do not necessarily sell large volumes and their distribution is often limited. Examples range from the sports-oriented such as Reebok , Nike and adidas , to young accessory brands such as Guess and Diesel , more mainstream accessory companies - Kenneth Cole or Anne Klein - and retailers themselves from the largest - Marks & Spencer - to smaller operators such as the jewellers Agatha . It is not surprising that Oakley - as one of the more successful 'younger' sunglasses companies - should have developed an extensive complementary range of clothing and other accessories which could be expected to sell well to its established customer base.

Fashion also performs another role. While it may be argued that it is the high-fashion names that are leading the way, at virtually all price points there has been an acceleration in the pace of change with fashion now playing such a vital part. This both meets consumer demand for a fashionable and stylish product, and stimulates further demand in itself so both forces of supply and demand are working together to reinforce growth, especially at higher price points.

Although more classical shapes and finishes are always available, more radical shifts are now introduced each year making (for the most fashion-alert buyer) pre-existing sunglasses more rapidly outdated. This factor has made a significant contribution to promoting unit sales over time within all parts of the total market, as well as accelerating the product purchase cycle. This development is particularly relevant to high-fashion names since this would be intensified by the fact that their typical customer is likely to be far more fashion-aware than average and prepared to pay more and buy more frequently.