Bollé Brands is a French eyewear and head protection company that designs, markets and distributes

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 ...

, safety glasses,

goggles Goggles, or safety glasses, are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and ...

and ski and bicycle helmets. The group owns the brands Bollé, Bollé Safety, Cébé, H2Optix, Spy Optic and

Serengeti The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa, spanning the Mara and Arusha Regions of Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game r ...

and is headquartered in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

The Bollé brand was established in 1888 by Seraphim Bollé in

Oyonnax Oyonnax () is the second most populated commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Oyonnax lies in a valley of the Jura Mountains in the far north of Ain. It is near the Parc naturel régional du Hau ...

, France. In 1925, the Bollé company first used celluloid glasses as part of its production. In 1936, the company expanded its sales to the UK trading as Thurgar-Bollé. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Bollé used molded nylon in the manufacturing process with sunglasses featuring protective lenses. The first pair of safety goggles and masks were added to the Bollé range of products in 1950 and in 1956 Georges Bollé created the nylon "cat-eye" sunglass and the first cycling specific sunglasses, the Nylon Grand Sport. In 1960, ski goggles were first marketed by Bollé. Throughout the 1970s, Bollé continued to invest in and develop protective eyewear, eventually moving into PPE eyewear for industrial work environments. In 2001, Bushnell acquired the Bollé and Serengeti Eyewear brands. Bollé, Cébé and Serengeti were part of

Vista Outdoor Vista Outdoor Inc. was an American designer, manufacturer, and marketer that operated in two segments: shooting sports and outdoor products. It was a "house of brands" with more than 40 labels and subsidiaries. Vista Outdoor was the parent compan ...

’s acquisition of Bushnell in 2013. A&M Capital Europe, a London based middle-market private equity firm, acquired Bollé Brands from Vista Outdoor Inc. (“Vista”) in 2018. AMCE appointed a new management team headed by Peter Smith as President & CEO of Bollé Brands. AMCE created the holding company Bollé Brands to bring the Bollé business units under the same umbrella. Following this acquisition Bollé Brands moved its US corporate headquarters into Spy's California headquarters and now runs its US operations out of Carlsbad.

References

{{reflist Sunglasses Eyewear brands of France Bicycle helmets Goggles