Hawkers is a Spanish brand based in

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names below) are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can s ...

using the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

as its

distribution channel Distribution (or place) is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for the consumer or business user who needs it. This can be done directly by the producer or service p ...

. Hawkers was founded in December 2013 by Iñaki Soriano, Pablo Sánchez and the brothers Alejandro and David Moreno. Hawkers is part of the Saldum Ventures group and its current President is Alejandro Betancourt.

History

Hawkers was founded in December 2013 by Iñaki Soriano, Pablo Sánchez, Alejandro Moreno, and David Moreno; each had experience in a different area: programming, graphic design and business. These four had previously created Saldum, an online second hand webstore, in 2012. That project did not receive any external financing, and after a year and a half low sales forced them to find other sources of income. To raise money they started developing online stores for external clients. Noticing the platforms they developed for their clients were profitable, they decided to start their own online business. They started selling sunglasses of the American brand Knockaround with an initial investment of only $300. They followed that with the

espadrille Espadrilles (Spanish: ''alpargatas or esparteñas''; Catalan: ''espardenyes''; Basque: ''espartinak'') are casual, rope-soled, flat but sometimes high-heeled shoes. They usually have a canvas or cotton fabric upper and a flexible sole made of ...

s brand, Miss Hamptons. The success of these two products led them to create their own sunglasses brand, and outsource its manufacturing. In 2014 the company's revenue exceeded 15 million euros, increasing to 40 million the following year, and in 2016 Hawkers projected 70 million euros in sales. In October 2016, Hawkers opened its first financing round to external investors, raising 50 million euros (56 million dollars) in its first round. In November the company announced the appointment of Alejandro Betancourt as Hawker's new president substituting the previous president Alejandro Moreno and that Hugo Arevalo joined as member of the board and vice president.

Product

Hawkers models are based on other more well-known brands with expired licenses, such as Oakley and Ray-Ban sunglasses, with a variety of lens and frame combinations. The company has collaborated to produce specific styles of sunglasses with a number of notable brands and individuals, including the

LA Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

, Usher,

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mich ...

, and others. The majority of the company's sales are direct-to-consumer sales conducted through the company's website. The sunglasses are produced by manufacturers in China, Italy, and Spain.

Business model

According to

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...

Hawkers business is based on using the Internet and

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

, specially

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, as the main channel to grow its sales, following a strategy of marketing through influencers,

celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

and sponsorings.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Hawkers' official website
Sunglasses Eyewear companies of Spain