Eyes Right Optical has created a new division, Sunglass Collective, to manage all its sunglass brands across New Zealand and Australia.
Launching a separate arm of Eyes Right Optical, a business known for its high-end optical frames, focusing on high-end sunglasses was always the long-term strategic plan, said managing director Mark Wymond. Winning the Australia and New Zealand distribution rights for Serengeti and Bollé made it all fall into place and Sunglass Collective was born, said Wymond. The two brands will form the ‘backbone of the collective’, which will also include Vera Wang Sun and Avanti Sun.
A six-month negotiation with Serengeti and Bollé owner private equity firm A&M Capital Europe led to the deal, Wymond said. “In the end, I believe we won the rights thanks to our strong relationships and distribution network. Eyes Right has an international reputation for quality distribution and we treat our brands as our own. The fact that there was no conflict of interest, as we don’t represent any of the other major sunglass brands, would also have been an advantage.”
MSO has been named New Zealand distributor of the new collective. Managing director Gethin Sladen said the year couldn’t have started better. “We ended 2019 on a high and started 2020 even stronger with a phone call from Mark confirming MSO as the New Zealand distributor for Sunglass Collective.” Sladen said he is also pleased to welcome Pene Fox to the team as the new Sunglass Collective sales rep.
