Eye Glasses: Five Innovations and Trends for 2011

Analyst Insight by Sulabh Madhwal

Euromonitor International discusses some major eyewear innovations which caught the eye in 2011.

Frames without lenses

Excluding sunglasses, spectacles have historically been used primarily as agents of vision correction, be it for myopia or other defects. The healthy growth of contact lenses in fact largely stems from handling and beauty concerns associated with spectacles. However, substantial eyewear markets in Asia – most notably Hong Kong and China – have seen the re-emergence of 'lensless spectacles' as a fashion accessory. This fashion statement has been supported by the freedom to wear long artificial eyelashes, lighter frames and fog-free spectacles, with several visually-impaired consumers having been persuaded to wear lensless spectacles along with their prescribed contact lenses.

The Real Work Begins As Private Equity Era Draws To a Close for Jimmy Choo

Analyst Insight by Rob Walker.

Jimmy Choo, the UK's trendsetting stiletto brand made famous by Sarah-Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw character in US sitcom “Sex and the City”, has been hitting private equity homeruns for the best part of a decade. Now that the brand is in the hands of Labelux, a luxury goods specialist founded in Germany in 2007, Euromonitor International reports on what ought to change in its strategic development.

Buy-out specialists play 'pass-the-parcel' with Jimmy Choo

Private equity firms, the buyout kings of 21st century capitalism, are not renowned for their long-term commitment to brands. Theirs is a deadpan business model that typically leverages a brand to the hilt before squeezing it for every last drop of profit over a short-term time frame. When the strategy works, the equity upside for a brand can be spectacular. When it tanks, a brand can sink into oblivion (defunct UK retailers Borders and Threshers are a case in point). Jimmy Choo has been one of the success stories of private equity (and there are few in the luxury goods industry), repaying handsomely the initial investments of three different firms since 2001. It is a measure of the brand's powerful trendsetting credentials. And that is thanks in no small measure to the fictional character Carrie Bradshaw.