6 minute read
VEDERE International September 2020
INTERVIEW WITH JERRY DREIFUSS
INVU BY SWISS EYEWEAR GROUP From Start-up to Key Player in the Polarized Sunglass Market
What motivated you and your colleagues to start a new company after Polaroid Eyewear was sold to Safilo?
Jerry Dreifuss
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 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 banking partner during this period and beyond.
What makes Swiss Eyewear Group unique?
One of our key success factors is our shareholder structure, which we believe is very unique. Our stakeholders are all experts in the eyewear industry and include the company founders, key employees, distribution partners and supply chain partners. Furthermore, we have created a working environment with flat hierarchies, open doors and empowered employees. Everyone leaves their ego at the door and everything we do is focused on the customers. While we are very serious about what we do, we also like to have fun and we do not take ourselves too seriously. Last but not least the INVU products and the brand positioning are very unique.
What is the product and positioning strategy of INVU?
Our key positioning strategy with INVU is to offer the best value for both retailers and consumers in everything we do. Unlike some of the big fashion labels who are sending excessive royalty checks to the brand owners, Swiss Eyewear Group is instead investing in the best materials and latest lens technologies to ensure that customers can enjoy the latest technological advances at a fair price.
What concretely does that mean for your current portfolio?
Our portfolio currently features three different lens technologies. Our INVU core lines that are retailed between Euro 50 and Euro 80 are using our proprietary ultrapolarized nine layer optical triacetate lens. In the retail area of Euro 80 – Euro 100 we are using our state-of-the-art injection molded polycarbonate lens. These lenses that have a Japanese polarizer and PC material. The polycarbonate lens also has a premium hard coat and is equipped with a 10 layer anti-reflective coating. Thirdly, our Rolls-Royce is the recently launched INVU ultra polarized glass collection that retails at Euro 100 – 140. Besides the precision French glass wafers that offer unmatched clarity, the INVU glass lens has additional bells and whistles such as a Hydrophobic coating, an Optical AR coating, proprietary edge sealing and of course a collection crafted in high end acetate. Explain the design process of the INVU portfolio. At our global headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland we have a team of designers who manage the entire process. This includes designing our sunglasses from the initial sketch all the way through to the technical drawings. All product specifications, engineering requirements, prototype reviews and the release of the molding process are also done in Zürich. For the actual production we are working with a group of hand selected certified partner factories. Quality control throughout the entire production process is performed by our own on-site quality inspectors. Excellent product quality and performance are key to our success.
How important is innovation for INVU? Do you have examples?
Innovation is extremely important for Swiss Eyewear Group. We split the innovation process into two main areas, product innovation and marketing innovation. On the product side we are consistently at the pulse of the latest lens and material developments. A few examples are the recently launched self-healing Nano coated lenses that cure surface scratches, blue light absorbing lenses and ultra flexible, high tensile Swiss materials as well as eco-friendly frame materials. On the marketing side we are the absolute leader in supplying the optical community with innovative point of sale materials to explain the benefits of our ultra polarized lenses to consumers.
This year we have launched INVU’s unique magic mirror technology. The magic mirror integrates the latest LCD technology into an elegant, highend glass mirror. The result - a stunning polarized mirror display that enables consumers to experience the true magic of ultra polarized lenses while trying on their favorite INVU sunglasses.
Last but not least on the digital side we are currently launching a web shop that allows consumers to create their own personal, customized pair of Made in Switzerland sunglasses.
What are the novelties for 2021?
Besides our brand new 2021 collections and the revolutionary magic mirror technology, we are launching our new Optical Frame + Clip collection. Polarization is our DNA and the launch of an optical frame collection with a magnetic ultra polarized clip-on is a natural evolution of our portfolio. Today’s advanced materials such as Ultem and Swiss TR 90 combined with the comfort of the magnetic attaching system makes this product a perfect additional sale to a prescription frame or a prescription sunglass frame. We are seeing a strong revival of this type of product and the first feedback from our customers is extremely encouraging.
How are INVU and Swiss Eyewear Group performing six years after the start and how would you describe your experience with Swiss Eyewear Group?
The experience, in one word, has been and continues to be amazing! For the founders of Swiss Eyewear Group and the entire team, a dream has become reality. On the financial side, after the 2nd year we hit break-even and every year thereafter we have been profitably growing by double digits. In the meantime, we have a very diverse employee base with over 60 people representing more than 12 nationalities and offices in eight different countries.
