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Sunglass Hut is an international retailer of
sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names Sunglasses#Other names, below) are a form of Eye protection, protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damagin ...
and sunglass accessories founded in
Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, United States, in 1971. Sunglass Hut is part of the Italian-based Luxottica Group, the world’s largest eyewear company. As of December 31, 2008, the Luxottica Group operated 2,286 stores around the world, most of those as part of the Sunglass Hut brand. Sunglass Hut stores are located in India, the United States, Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, Brazil, continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and the Middle East including Israel.


History

The first Sunglass Hut store opened in 1971 when optometrist Sanford L. Ziff set up in a freestanding kiosk in Miami's Dadeland Mall. The success of this kiosk prompted Ziff to open other Sunglass Hut locations in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, and by 1986, Ziff had opened approximately 100 Sunglass Hut outlets, achieving sales of $24 million a year. In 1986 Ziff sold a 75% stake in Sunglass Hut to
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
investment firm Kidd, Kamm & Co. for $35 million. Ziff retained the company’s existing management team and shifted part ownership to his son, Dean. Following the partial acquisition, the business was incorporated under the name Sunglass Hut International, Inc. Ziff retired from Sunglass Hut in 1989. He and his family retained a 25 percent stake in the business, but were no longer involved in its day-to-day operation. They retained the stake until 1991, when the company's annual sales surpassed $100 million, and the Ziff family sold the portion of Sunglass Hut that remained in their control. Sunglass Hut entered
eCommerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain managemen ...
when it added the ability to purchase sunglasses to its US website. In February 2001, the Luxottica Group acquired Sunglass Hut, paying US$653 million including debt and taking possession of 1,300 Sunglass Hut stores, 430 Sunglass Hut-Watch Station combination stores, and 228 stores that operated under either the Watch Station or Watch World banner. The Watch Station International chain was sold to Fossil Inc. in December 2007.


Stores and locations

Sunglass Hut operates 2,000 retail outlets in 20 countries: 1,562 in North America, 157 in Australia, 44 in New Zealand, 15 in Asia, 123 in South Africa, 81 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, 33 in the Middle East, and 35 in India. , it is the most common store in American shopping malls. Sunglass Hut store types include normal retail stores and shopping centre kiosks, retailers in airports, hotels and outlet centres, and premium "global" stores. Sunglass Hut has entered into a partnership with
Macy’s Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
to open stores within their department stores. Sunglass Hut stores have opened in Australia, China,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
, India, the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...
,
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...
and
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
. In 2011, they continued to grow within Central and South America, opening up stores in Mexico and Brazil.


Strategic partnerships

In May 2018, Sunglass Hut signed an agreement to bring their brand to Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's stores and e-commerce platforms. The first opened in May 2018. The annual target is sales of $100 million.


Technology


References


External links


Official website
{{Eyewear retailers Luxottica Eyewear retailers of the United States Eyewear companies of Canada Eyewear retailers of Australia Eyewear retailers of New Zealand American companies established in 1971 Retail companies established in 1971 2001 mergers and acquisitions