Safilo acquires majority stake in Privé Revaux

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Feb 11, 2020

Italian eyewear company Safilo Group has announced the acquisition of a 61.34% majority stake in Miami-based, celebrity-backed eyewear company Privé Goods LLC, also known as Privé Revaux.

The overall consideration for the 61.34% controlling interest in the company is worth some $67.5 million, according a press release issued by the Italian group on Monday. The announcement added that private equity fund TSG Consumer Partners and its affiliates have sold their entire stake in Privé Revaux to Safilo Group and other equity holders of the company.

David Schottenstein, Privé Revaux's founding entrepreneur and chief executive officer, will retain ownership of approximately 15.5% of the equity, following the deal.
The remainder will be held by the brand's celebrity co-founders, Jamie Foxx, Hailee Steinfeld and Ashley Benson, as well as senior management of the company, and certain other investors.

Founded in 2017, Privé Revaux offers a range of premium eyewear at an affordable price point -- typically ranging between $29.95 and $65 -- with a business model anchored in social media engagement, digital marketing and celebrity endorsements and capsule collections.

In addition to frequently being worn by Foxx, Steinfeld and Benson, Privé Revaux frames have been spotted publicly on stars like Jennifer Lopez, Cara Delevingne and singer Billie Eilish, and the brand has launched capsules with supermodel Adriana Lima, actress Dove Cameron and 'Riverdale' actress Madelaine Petsch.

Privé Revaux's variety of sunglasses, readers, sighted glasses and blue-light glasses (to fight digital eye strain) are sold via "a broad set of channels and retail partners, both online and offline," the company said, including the brand's own e-commerce platform.  

In 2019, the company recorded net sales of approximately $20 million, up around 90% compared to the previous year, and plans to continue strongly growing them in 2020, the company said. 
                     
“We are very pleased to enrich our proprietary brand portfolio with Privé Revaux," said Angelo Trocchia, Safilo’s chief executive officer.

"Privé Revaux has successfully created a repeatable and scalable strategy with celebrity capsule programs that can be introduced into various markets around the world, a consumer-centric marketing model from which we can learn and leverage on, while putting our capabilities at its disposal for its global expansion.”

Safilo's acquisition marks the latest in a continued upswing for the Italian eyewear company, which saw its shares plunge in December after announcing that the expected loss of licenses with LVMH brands Dior and Fendi would wipe 200 million euros (over $219 million) off its annual sales, and that it would cancel its dividend for the next five years.

Shortly after, the company began to bounce back with the announcement of an early renewal of its licensing agreement for Marc Jacobs eyewear. Late this month, it announced total revenue had reached €939 million (over $1,025 billion), thanks largely to its wholesale channel and Asia-Pacific region.