Safilo acquires majority stake of celebrity eyewear Privé Revaux

Safilo buffers up with acquisitions. The optical group, which in recent years has lost some of its largest licenses agreements, has acquired 61.34% of the United-States-based company Privé Revaux, the group said in a statement.

Founded in 2017 by David Schottenstein, among its shareholders are personalities such actors Jamie Foxx, Hailee Steinfeld and Ashley Benson, who will keep a majority stake. The majority stake acquired was previously held by a group of investors including the private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners.

Privé Revaux sell glasses co-branded through collaborations with influencers and celebrities and had sales of about twenty million dollars in 2019, 90% more than the previous year. The company concentrates most of its distribution in the United States, where it operates in department stores such as Kohl’s or Dillard’s and optical chains such as National Vision or QVC.

Safilo ended 2019 with a revenue of 939 million euros (1 billion dollars)

For Safilo, the purchase “contributes a millennial-focused digital marketing strategy,” said Angelo Trocchia, CEO of Safilo. “Privé Revaux has created a scalable strategy with capsule collections that can be introduced in various markets around the world and a consumer-centric model from which we can learn,” the executive continued.

Safilo has ended this year with a deep transformation plan to return to the course of growth. The company ended 2019 with a revenue of 939 million euros (1 billion dollars) (taking into account only continuing operations), 3.1% more than the previous year.