The American brand of polarized sunglasses Rēvo has chosen Barcelona to open its first own physical store in the world. Founded in New York 37 years ago, the firm has settled in the central and touristy Baixada de la Llibreteria street, which connects Via Laietana with Plaça Sant Jaume. Its goal is to attract both the local and international public and use the establishment as a spearhead to access the European market.
With a price range that goes from 149 euros to 399 euros, Rēvo has positioned itself, since its beginnings in 1985, as an innovative and technological brand, for using advanced materials and having as clients especially elite athletes thanks to its features and high performance. The firm was founded by a NASA Optical Engineer, Mitch Ruda, who wanted to apply to sunglasses the same coatings that the American space agency used to protect satellites from the sun's rays.
Throughout its history, Rēvo has had ups and downs, and has changed hands several times. After its initial success, it was acquired by the multinational Bausch & Lomb which, at that time, was also the owner of the iconic brand Ray-Ban and of Arnette. In 1999, Bausch & Lomb sold its entire eyewear division for 640 million dollars to the Italian group Luxottica, which, however, ended up getting rid of Rēvo in 2013 as it preferred to focus its efforts on Oakley, a brand with a similar positioning that it acquired in 2007.
From Luxottica, Rēvo passed into the hands of the B. Robinson group, until in 2018, it became an independent brand again when it was acquired by a group of ten private American investors who are fans of the brand. These new owners have activated a relaunch plan for the brand that also contemplates growing with the opening of own stores. Currently, Rēvo obtains 40% of its sales from its online store, 30% from the optical sales channel, and the remaining 30% in sports stores and other specialized shops, for example, in golf practice. The golfer Annika Sörenstam is one of the brand's ambassadors, along with the athlete and instructor Kendall Toole.
In 2018, Rēvo barely invoiced two million euros, but the goal of the new owners is to increase turnover this year to 15 million euros, according to Gabor Kereszturi, manager of Rēvo in Europe.
"Rēvo's first store in Barcelona is a test; we are convinced that if it works here, the brand will also work in other countries," he explains in statements to The New Barcelona Post. According to Kereszturi, Rēvo, through online sales, is already strong in countries like the United Kingdom and Italy, but now, with the physical network, the idea is to encourage consumers to try their glasses and compare them with those of other competing companies, convinced of their high performance in protection and for offering a "clearer and sharper" vision that makes a difference thanks to the technology developed by the founder.
Rēvo also plans to open stores in New York, Florida, and London. "When deciding to open in Europe, we had to choose between Barcelona, Rome, and Lisbon. Clearly, Barcelona was the winning city. I love this city, which is where I have resided for a few years, after having visited it a dozen times as a tourist," Kereszturi highlights.
Of Hungarian origin, the businessman has extensive experience in the optical sector, having owned a chain with 200 establishments in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Poland. "My partner and I sold the company twelve years ago. I was retired in London and thought, what am I doing living in London when I could be in Barcelona? And I moved to your city," he explains, satisfied.
"In the last decade, I have dedicated myself to consulting, but when I saw that a group of friends bought Rēvo I decided to join them and today I am part of its board of directors, in addition to leading the project in Europe," says Kereszturi to explain his return to the business world. The executive, who claims to have waited six months to get the location he liked in the heart of the city, is delighted with Barcelona, but criticizes its excessive bureaucracy. "It's a big problem, crazy! Businessmen want to create business and wealth and we expect more local support," he laments from his new store, located a few meters from the city hall.
Despite its small size, the Rēvo store allows for the perfect display of the brand's different collections and ranges, which designs 100% of its products and uses high-resistance materials such as titanium or carbon fiber. Some of its lightest glasses weigh only 18 grams. Rēvo is a specialist in glasses with photochromic lenses, which adapt to changes in light and allow for equally clear vision even if there is no sun. Another of its great successes is the Audio Sonic, glasses with bluetooth that, connected to a mobile application compatible with Android and IOS, allow you to listen to music or answer calls without the need to wear headphones, since the speaker is integrated into the touch arm of the right side of the frame. To also offer a prescription sunglasses service, Rēvo has partnered in Barcelona with Óptica Bassol.