Sunglass Hut

MISSION

At Sunglass Hut, our mission is to be the premier shopping and inspiration destination for the top brands, latest trends and exclusive styles of high quality fashion and performance sunglasses.

HISTORY

1971:

Optometrist Sanford Ziff sets up a freestanding Sunglass Hut kiosk in Miami's Dadeland Mall.

1986:

Ziff opens his hundredth Sunglass Hut outlet in Miami, achieving sales of $24 million a year.

1986:

Ziff sells a 75% stake in Sunglass Hut to Connecticut investment firm Kidd, Kamm & Co. for $US35-million and the business is incorporated under the name Sunglass Hut International, Inc.

1989:

Ziff retires from Sunglass Hut. He and his family retain a 25% stake in the business, but are no longer involved in its day-to-day operation.

1991:

Sunglass Hut's annual sales surpass $100 million, and the Ziff family sells the portion of Sunglass Hut in their control.

1993:

Sunglass Hut International, Inc. becomes a public company, with an initial public offering of US$70-million.

1996:

Sunglass Hut reaches a 30% share of the sunglass market in the United States. The company also begins selling watches under the names Watch Station, Watch World, and as combined Sunglass Hut-Watch Station stores.

1998:

Sunglass Hut enters the world of ecommerce, giving customers the ability to buy sunglasses on its US website, sunglasshut.com.

2000:

The Luxottica Group acquires Sunglass Hut, paying US$653 million and taking possession of 1,300 Sunglass Hut stores, 430 Sunglass Hut-Watch Station combination stores and 228 stores operating under the Watch Station or Watch World banners.

2003:

Sunglass Hut repositions its brand identity to emphasize sunglass fashion.

2008:

Sunglass Hut teams up with Nicaraguan artist Chris Mendoza to create individualized pairs of Ray-Ban Wayfarers on location at Sunglass Hut's SoHo store in New York.

2009:

Sunglass Hut and Prada create a one-week-only Prada concept store in the Rockefeller Centre, New York.

2009:

Sunglass Hut introduces Social Sun, a series of in-store photo kiosks that allow customers to photograph themselves trying on sunglasses and post the photos to Facebook or send them to friends via email or text message.