Safilo buys stake in Celebrity Eyewear Licensee Prive Revaux

Safilo Group has purchased a 61% stake in celebrity eyewear licensee Prive Revaux. Prive CEO David Schottenstein will keep a 15.5% stake in the company, with the remainder held by actor Jamie Foxx and actresses Hailee Steinfeld and Ashley Benson.

Founded in 2017, Revaux was built on a shared passion for style and quality with the goal of disrupting the eyewear industry and making premium, quality eyewear products accessible to everyone. The company posted sales of $20 million in 2019, up 90% from the previous year.

The acquisition has been financed partially through a $30 million loan provided by Safilo’s reference shareholder, Multibrands Italy B.V., controlled by HAL Holding N.V., and for the remaining portion through available resources.

The acquisition will expand Safilo, which has a range of licenses for Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, Fendi, and others, into the celebrity brand business. It also follows its losing licenses for Gucci and Dior, the latter expiring this year.

In addition to creating capsule collections with Steinfeld and Benson, Prive also has worked with “Riverdale” star Madelaine Petsch, and most recently, model Adriana Lima. In mid-2018, Privé received an undisclosed investment from private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners.

Since inception, Privé Revaux has carefully curated relationships with celebrities who wear and endorse its products. Catering to a diverse fanbase, the brand has levered its celebrity appeal to new customers through a distinctive capsule collection program of co-branded styles designed by major celebrity influencers and is continually adding to its roster of talent with new collections seasonally.

Angelo Trocchia, Chief Executive Officer of Safilo, said, “We are very pleased to enrich our proprietary brand portfolio with Privé Revaux, a fast-growing US-origin brand, which contributes a millennial-focused digital marketing strategy and whose mission is to offer affordable, high-quality, beautifully designed eyewear, using celebrities’ endorsements to drive brand awareness and sales. 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.”

David Schottenstein, Founder and CEO, Privé Revaux, stated, “This is a monumental moment for Privé Revaux and a true turning point in our business. We have worked tirelessly to bring consumers tangible quality and style when it comes to eyewear, at a fair and reasonable price and Safilo believes in our vision and goal. I couldn’t be prouder of what this brand has accomplished in only a few short years, and with Safilo in our corner, the sky’s the limit.”