INTERVIEW WITH JERRY DREIFUSS
INVU BY SWISS EYEWEAR GROUP From Start-up to Key Player in the Polarized Sunglass Market INVU, the innovative global sunglass brand by Swiss Eyewear Group, is moving into its seventh season! Created by five former Polaroid Eyewear managers in 2013, INVU is now distributed in over 95 markets and showcased in over 20’000 retailers worldwide. Vedere International spoke with Jerry Dreifuss, CEO of Swiss Eyewear Group to find out more about the company and its strategy: What motivated you and your colleagues to start a new company after Polaroid Eyewear was sold to Safilo? Pre Safilo acquisition, we worked in a customer focused environment with flat hierarchies, an open door policy, fast decision making and little internal politics. Coming from such an entrepreneurial environment made it very difficult for my colleagues and me to adapt to being part of a corporate “giant”. What were the key challenges that you faced during the start-up phase? A challenge but also the most exciting part of a start-up is that you start with a 100% blank sheet of paper. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to do things right from the start. Total freedom to define everything without any old baggage. You determine the company’s philosophy, vision and mission along with the legal and shareholder structures. You also design the branding, marketing strategy, product portfolio and go to market strategy. It is an unbelievably rewarding feeling to develop and implement everything. But to come
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VEDERE INTERNATIONAL – September 2020
back to your question about the challenges - no doubt this was also the financing part. Most start-up companies fail not because of profitability but because of cash flow. Given the seasonality of the eyewear business and the inherently long payment terms in the industry, having sufficient cash to make it through the start-up phase until our company reached critical mass was our highest priority. Luckily, we could rely on our highly supportive investor base as well as Credit Suisse who has been a fantastic
