Photo courtesy of Kevin Tachman for Gucci.
MILAN and NEW YORK—Kering Eyewear, a division of Kering and Gucci have announced the start of the first global sales campaign for Gucci Eyewear. This marks the beginning of the new partnership for the product development, manufacturing and distribution of Gucci Eyewear.

Starting October 1, 2016, Kering Eyewear has begun to take orders for the January 2017 Gucci collection at events and roadshows in various locations around the world. The company noted, “A dedicated team of brand ambassadors has been hired to target all markets locally, thereby ensuring a selective distribution strategy that reflects Gucci’s DNA and consequent alignment of the sunglasses and optical frames alongside the house’s other categories.”

In the U.S. and Canada, Kering Eyewear execs told VMail, the company has initiated a series of new collection product previews in more than 30 markets, beginning this week.

Roberto Vedovotto, Kering Eyewear CEO, stated, “Fashion and luxury eyewear is a niche segment in a crowded marketplace. Thanks to our unique portfolio of brands we are now the first company in the industry to be exclusively dedicated to luxury eyewear. Among this portfolio, we are of course extremely proud of our partnership with Gucci, especially given the remarkable momentum that the brand is experiencing at this time."

In September 2014, as part of a strategic internalization, the Kering Group decided to establish a dedicated company to specialize in fashion and luxury eyewear, as VMail previously reported.

Marco Bizzarri, president and CEO of Gucci, added, "The unique and original aesthetic of our creative director Alessandro Michele has allowed us to successfully reignite and reinvent Gucci. Eyewear represents a key category through which to express this new aesthetic. Together with Kering Eyewear, we are now enthusiastically committed to achieving the category’s full potential, starting with this collection."

According to Glenn Rusk, SVP sales for Kering Eyewear, North America, “These events are very important for us to begin our new distribution approach for the January 2017 SS17 Gucci Eyewear collection designed by creative director Alessandro Michele. All accounts interested in Gucci Eyewear shall need to book an appointment or contact Kering Eyewear to be able to move forward with the brand in 2017. We will show our 11 additional collections during this time as well."

He noted, “All loyal existing Gucci customers have receive invitations to the Gucci launch events. If someone is interested in attending, they can contact Guccieyewear.us@kering.com to learn about the dates established for the 30+ cities in October, November and December or call Kering Eyewear at (908) 947-2200.”

Safilo (SFL:MI) and Kering (FR 0000121485, KER.PA, KER.FP) announced changes to their Gucci licensing agreement in the context of Kering’s decision to internalize most of its eyewear business.

As part of this strategic move announced in September 2014, Kering and Safilo agreed to evolve their 20-year-long partnership. They jointly agreed to terminate the current Gucci license agreement two years early on Dec. 31, 2016. In compensation, Kering will pay Safilo €90 million, in three installments between 2014 and 2018.

In order to benefit from Safilo’s expertise and production capabilities in manufacturing, the two groups have put in place a strategic product partnership agreement for four years starting in January 2017 which is renewable upon mutual agreement.

This agreement covers the product development, manufacturing and supply of Gucci eyewear products by Safilo, as VMail reported in January 2015. Safilo Group continues to sell its own Gucci collections through Dec. 31, 2016.



Current Dates of Kering Eyewear’s U.S and Canada Preview events. For more info or to book an appointment, contact guccieyewear.us@kering.com.