- Business
- Safilo Group S.p.A. Safilo Group S.p.A. is an Italian eyewear company that designs, manufactures and distributes prescription frames, sunglasses, sports eyewear, ski goggles and helmets under its proprietary house brands and licensed brands; the company operates through a portfolio encompassing house brands such as Carrera, Polaroid Eyewear, Smith Optics, Blenders Eyewear, Privé Revaux and Seventh Street, alongside licensed collections for brands including David Beckham, Carolina Herrera, Tommy Hilfiger, Boss, Hugo, Dsquared2, Missoni, Marc Jacobs, Levi's, Kate Spade, Under Armour, Fossil, Jimmy Choo and others. Founded in 1934 by Guglielmo Tabacchi—building on manufacturing origins dating to 1878—with headquarters in Padova, Italy, Safilo Group maintains three owned production sites, three main distribution centers and a global footprint serving over 100,000 points of sale directly in 40 countries and through more than 40 distribution partners in 70 countries; its operations emphasize control over the full value chain from research and development to production in Italy, the United States and China, with selective outsourcing, alongside direct-to-consumer and wholesale channels including independent opticians, chains, department stores, duty-free shops and sporting goods retailers. In recent developments, the company acquired a perpetual license for Eyewear by David Beckham in May 2024, elevating house brands to approximately 50% of sales; renewed key licensing agreements including Missoni until 2029, Marc Jacobs until 2031, Dsquared2 ahead of schedule, Carolina Herrera, Under Armour, Kate Spade, Tommy Hilfiger, BOSS and HUGO; announced a ten-year global licensing agreement with Victoria Beckham; established a supply agreement renewal with Kering Eyewear until 2029; sold Lenti Srl; validated science-based sustainability targets by SBTi; partnered with Spaarkly for digital transformation and continued its Special Olympics partnership through 2027; implemented a new shares buyback program and share capital changes following 2024 results showing net sales of €993.2 million despite challenges from the Jimmy Choo license exit.