Holly Rush, CEO, in her offi ce at Costa headquarters in Daytona Beach. Rush celebrated one year with Costa in April 2017.
Renato Cappuccitti, Director of Rx Strategy and Partner
Development, inspects a lens within Costa’s state-of-theart
Rx processing lab where Costa utilizes its proprietary
Waypoint digital processing technology.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—There’s tidal change underway at Costa.

Securing its original core and dedicated group of fisherman and angler fans for its polarized sunwear through extensive “community” building, Costa—as a company and as a brand—has been in expansion mode on many fronts, including a concerted push into the optical space.

Costa is under the leadership of Holly Rush, who joined the company in April 2016. She had spent six years at Luxottica’s wholesale North America division, most recently as president, following a long career of expanding sales and marketing roles in the luxury, beauty and consumer goods markets. She is spearheading further growth with the help of sales, technology and product development, marketing and sales teams, and Costa is expanding quickly and confidently across the U.S. It is just as rapidly bringing on stream a new and broader range of product choices along with proprietary Rx sun lens capabilities to consumers and to a diverse range of retail partners and accounts.

Its brand now encompasses the passions and interests of a wider range of water-loving customers (and a lively social media following) among those who are fans of action sports as well as lifestyle activities at oceans, bays, lakes, beaches—wherever they live. Consumers in this diverse “tribe” are ardent advocates for the brand.

John Sanchez, who joined Costa a few years back, brings a wide and deep 25-plus years of expertise in the sun and sport arena. As VP product development, Sanchez oversees an enthusiastic team creating new ideas, colors, shapes and silhouettes to Costa’s product lines. “John has really accelerated the product road map, speaking to a wider range of customer types,” said Rush. “He has expanded his team, too, to address not only performance but women and optical needs as well.”

In addition to new fashion lifestyle colors and styles, Sanchez also works to translate technical and style know-how to a growing range of optical frame styles. In coordination with Costa’s internal Rx lab (for processing proprietary plastic and glass Rx lenses), the team is bringing Costa’s functionality to the fore, along with a new sensibility in a wider collection. Rush explained, “Many of our new products support a coastal lifestyle. Our core products will continue, but you will see a noticeable shift in product assortment, more options for different consumers, including women, in a focused way.”

For over 30 years, Costa has been a champion of clean water ways and sustainable fishing practices to keep oceans, lakes and rivers vibrant for generations to come. Costa’s Kick Plastic campaign seeks to raise awareness about the growing plastic pollution problem threatening oceans worldwide and encourage others to join the movement by replacing everyday plastic items with reusable ones (bottles, grocery bags, etc.). The bio-based, eco-friendly resin that’s used for all of Costa’s plastic sunglasses is also part of the initiative to reduce Costa’s carbon footprint and protect the planet’s waters.

The company has also served as a long-term partner of OCEARCH, a group of explorers and scientists who are dedicated to generating previously unattainable data on the movement, biology and health of sharks. A special new collection ties in and supports this cause.

Costa views its one-to-one customer connections as fundamental and central to its core of “authenticity.” The company invested in a great deal of research to consider its contemporary approach to the brand. Almost half of the consumers that came along the way with Costa’s growth as a fisherman’s brand were those who loved to explore, loved the water and its lifestyle.

Communicating this “cult brand” message to eyecare professionals is now Costa’s priority—offering performance sunglasses and now also the optical frame line to widen their eyewear portfolio. In addition, a new initiative for in-office and in-store merchandising underscores the brand’s identity Costa with signage, fixtures, display resources and digital assets are just now flowing to accounts, including optical/vision care partners.

“The optical market has its own needs, is very service-oriented and the role of the eyecare professional is key to helping and referring patients. We’re speaking to the technical aspects of Rx sun and the Costa customer who wants to wear a great Costa frame with a clear lens every day. We can speak to this arena in a meaningful way,” Rush told VM.

She continued, “We’ve asked ourselves, how can we best create that intense community feeling around our brand? It’s important to have things not look and feel the same,” she continued, adding, “There’s a very strong connection with Costa from the consumer. It’s not just a ‘trade’ brand. We can share those brand ideas with a wider base. We have a young following and Millennials love this brand, Costa resonates with them. We’re authentic, we care about the environment and sustainability. We learned that many consumers found us because of that. And above all, we’re a technology company. When someone puts on one of our lenses, it’s a ‘wow’ experience and we are working now to evolve that technology soon.”

Under Renato Cappuccitti, Costa’s Director of Rx Strategy and Partner Development, Costa is expanding the premium qualities of its lens technology, offering polycarbonate as well as glass and processing jobs through its two labs here, full-service modern labs.

Costa’s business campus here in Daytona is extensive, featuring a warranty repair center and an expanding warehouse. “We have built the entire value chain, from product development and design to the outbound to our customers.”

Costa’s products are ‘Built in the U.S.A.’ and in the company’s state-of-the-art Rx lab, over 200 people make product for the American market. Frames are sourced in Europe, Japan and Italy and our components elsewhere but we do the finishing here and we are certified as Built in the U.S.A. This means a great deal to our customers and our business partners.”

Costa, which was founded in 1983, became part of the Essilor group in 2014. The company is forging its own path, Rush emphasized, however she added, “The seeds of innovation and R&D run deep at Essilor–to be part of one of the most successful and innovative companies in the world is a tremendous benefit. They have a deep respect for us and are a great resource.”

Rush noted, “We see ourselves in the premium performance space. We’re the third largest brand in the U.S, up there with Oakley and Maui Jim. To be at that level and growing double digits for more than 20 years is a consistent run and we feel we’re just getting started.”

The international market is a big opportunity for Costa. Rush said, “Distribution is important, but the right brand building is key. We’ll be focusing on Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America initially and the destination traveler; we’ve developed a small but growing international sales team, how focused on global travel and we’ll examine international market development soon.”