The marketing strategies that cement sunglass hut as a top name in eyewear retail
Credit: Choo Yut Shing on Flickr via CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Luxottica is probably the biggest name in eyewear industry. Its portfolio includes iconic brands, including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Versace, Pearle Vision, Target Optical—and Sunglass Hut.
Founded by Miami-based optometrist Sanford Ziff in 1971, Sunglass Hut certainly had humble beginnings. Today, however, it operates outside the US in countries ranging from the UK to India, running more than 3,200 stores worldwide. That’s more stores than any other brand under the Luxottica group, and it’s definitely established Sunglass Hut as a leader in eyewear retail.
What’s even more intriguing is how the brand maintains its top market position. That’s especially true given Sunglass Hut’s luxury sunglasses catalogue. From Prada and Gucci and Dolce&Gabbana, this retailer is often the go-to for on-trend, iconic, and even sporty designer eyewear, and that means it caters to a very niche demographic.
So, how does it keep operations sustainable? There’s one simple answer: marketing.
The reason why even sophisticated models like Tom Ford’s cat-eye Winona and the round Burberry Jude keep on selling through Sunglass Hut is that the brand invests heavily in innovative marketing strategies that get its name out to luxury and everyday consumers alike. Here are three things it does that help it continue cementing itself as a top name in eyewear retail.
High-profile collaborations
Endorsements are a great way to reach untapped customer bases, including the users following the personalities a brand works with. That’s arguably why Sunglass Hut is known for its high-profile collaborations, including 2019 partnerships with Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker and English model Alexa Chung. Both resulted in specially designed, limited edition sunglasses collections that raised brand awareness while boosting sales.
Sunglass Hut also invests in newer marketing trends, including what the BBC calls the rise of influencer marketing. Influencers often specialise in specific niches like art, fashion, and travel, so collaborating with them allows brands to conduct campaigns laser-focused on a particular demographic. Sunglass Hut takes full advantage of this, partnering with queer influencers during Pride Month to talk about self-expression through style and sports influencers like Lachlan Mitchell to showcase designer shades from brands like Oakley to a broader audience. That means momentum for lead generation and sales conversion never slows down, helping the retailer maintain its top position in the industry.
Pop-up events
Though high-profile endorsements are a great marketing tactic, it’s not the only one brands should employ. Our post The Impact of Event Marketing on Business Growth exemplifies this, explaining that diversifying marketing strategies through methods like event marketing allows for direct engagement with consumers to more successfully nurture leads. That’s especially true with research showing that consumers are more likely to trust a brand after directly interacting with them at an event. Sunglass Hut’s London pop-up events show that the retailer takes those potential benefits to heart. Its most recent one, held in Trafalgar Square amid 2023’s holiday season, was specifically designed to promote its #ShadesofHoliday campaign with festive, themed sunglasses on display. By offering opportunities to win prizes such as in-store discounts and eyewear, the retailer fully engaged passersby into looking into its offerings and potentially making a purchase down the line.
Local inventory ads
After conducting unique marketing campaigns to draw consumers in, Sunglass Hut works to guide them towards making a purchase. As with many retailers, Sunglass Hut does so by aiming to deliver a seamless omnichannel experience that blends the benefits of brick-and-mortar and online shopping for consumers. That’s where the retailer goes into the nitty-gritty of modern marketing technology through the strategic use of local inventory ads (LIAs).
Through vendors like Highstreet.io, Sunglass Hut uses a product management feed to integrate its LIAs with Google Shopping ads. This allows any internet user looking for eyewear from the retailer on Google to view pertinent information on the search results page, such as prices, links that redirect to its official website, and details on the nearest Sunglass Hut store to them. This move allowed the brand to achieve improved visibility to its target audience and an enhanced click-through rate, resulting in more customers making click-and-collect orders as well as choosing pickup point shipping options.
Rewards programmes
Sunglass Hut continues to market throughout the buyer journey through the use of rewards programmes. These structured relationship marketing strategies foster long-term customer satisfaction and loyalty—and can even help boost brand awareness through word of mouth.
That’s probably why Sunglass Hut’s free-to-join Sun Club was launched in early 2024. Here, customers who shop both in-store and online earn points with every purchase. They can then use these points to advance through loyalty tiers and redeem insider benefits, including access to exclusive product launches and branded gifts. These perks ensure customers are more likely to both make future purchases and share the value of the retailer’s offerings to others, further sustaining Sunglass Hut’s long-term growth.
