Latest News Kits Eyecare Expands Leadership Team in Marketing and Technology By Staff Tuesday, June 8, 2021 12:18 AM VANCOUVER—Kits Eyecare Ltd. (TSX: KITS) (OTCQX: KTYCF), a fast-growing, vertically integrated eyecare platform, announced the appointment of Robert Long to chief information officer, a new position at the firm, and the appointment of Stefan Harvalias as chief marketing officer. Separately, Kits announced on Monday that it has shipped its first 100,000 pairs of prescription eyeglasses. Kits completed its initial public offering and listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange in January. The IPO raised gross proceeds of $55 million Canadian, as VMAIL reported.Long joined Kits in January 2020 from Dyson Canada, where he sat on the leadership team and led the direct-to-consumer division. At Dyson, he built the direct channel into a leading growth driver for the company, according to the Kits announcement. Previous to Dyson, Long was a key member of the marketing leadership team at Coastal Contacts, helping to launch the eyeglasses business in 2008. He subsequently moved to Shanghai to lead EyeBuyDirect, a leading glasses retailer.Harvalias joins Kits from Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH), where he led the global marketing function for the Plenty of Fish banner. Previously, he served in progressively senior marketing positions across consumer brand companies including Visa, Kraft Heinz and EA Sports.Commenting on the leadership updates, Roger Hardy, chief executive of Kits said, "We are delighted to welcome Stefan to the team. His track record of building successful e-commerce brands and subscription businesses, combined with his breadth of experience delivering strong results makes him ideally suited to lead Kits' marketing efforts as we continue on our journey as a public company."Hardy also noted that since the beginning of 2020, Long’s contributions have enabled the company to achieve record revenues and unlock new customer growth. “We're truly excited to have him lead our data and information team,” Hardy added. “As we continue to expand our expertise in technology and operations, we are focused on investing in the right talent to accelerate growth and generate value for our shareholders.”Hardy is the founder of several recognized online eyewear brands, including Clearly.ca, Coastal.com and Lensway.se. The brands were acquired by Essilor in 2014.Over the past two years of rapid growth, Kits has hired over 90 employees, including over 80 in the Vancouver area. Kits plans to continue to expand its Vancouver presence with additional leadership hires in marketing, technology, and operations in the year ahead.