Marchon Eyewear: exceeding objectives and expanding licences

Recent months have been busy for United States-based manufacturer and distributor of eyewear and sunglasses, Marchon Eyewear as it renewed several licences and expanded its portfolio by signing a licensing agreement with both DKNY and Donna Karan New York. According to Nicola Zotta, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marchon has exceeded even its own objectives.

FashionUnited spoke with Zotta via email to get an indepth look into the American spectacles group.

2017 was eventful at Marchon Eyewear. What were some achievements?

We are very satisfied with our performance in 2017. We attained all our commercial objectives, announced important license renewals with Calvin Klein and Karl Lagerfeld, as well as launched the new line of Longchamp glasses. The company is satisfied with the good results in Europe, particularly with strong growth of our businesses in France, Germany and Spain.

What were sales in the first six months of 2018?

Marchon Eyewear had an excellent first six months in 2018 in Europe and the Middle East, achieving two-figure growth, well ahead of our objectives. We attribute this strong performance to the brands in our portfolio such as Chloé, Calvin Klein and Lacoste, as well as to the successful launch of the Longchamp spectacles. In Europe, we maintained strength in key markets, particularly in France and Italy, and our presence in Turkey was also recently consolidated despite its difficult economic and political conditions.

How has the new Longchamp line been received?

The launch of the Longchamp line has been extremely successful and even exceeded our overall objectives for the brand. Longchamp is a wonderful partner and the brand has made the transition to the world of eyewear without any problems from a product design perspective; inspired by the iconic Longchamp bags. In particular, the performance of the brand in France, its main market, has been excellent. It has been added to our brand’s strong traction in each of the markets where it has been launched.

In how many markets will it be distributed?

We have ambitious goals for expanding the Longchamp eyewear line to more markets. By the end of 2018, we plan on achieving complete worldwide distribution. Beyond that, we will continue to strengthen the line and expand our customer base in its current markets.

Tell us about the new Calvin Klein 205W39NYC line created by Raf Simons. Has it succeeded in increasing awareness of the brand?

Designer brands are essential to increase the reputation of the brand with consumers. In this sense, the new Calvin Klein 205W39NYC has been remarkably well received in France, and offered in numerous sales outlets. We can see the positive effect that this new brand gives to all the Calvin Klein eyewear.

What’s new this year?

A few days ago we announced a new exclusive worldwide licensing agreement for DKNY and Donna Karan New York spectacles. The DKNY spectacles will start being launched worldwide in Spring 2019 and we consider this to be a solid brand for France where the brand’s sports clothing is widely distributed in that country, and we hope that it will be crowned with success.

This article was originally written for FashionUnited.fr. Translated and edited by Kelly Press.

Photo: Marchon Eyewear: Salvatore Ferragamo, Nicola Zotta, Longchamp, DKNY