Serious about style

Chances are if you have travelled in and around London in the past six months you will have caught a glimpse of taxis branded with John Richmond eyewear or giant roadside billboards featuring Vivienne Westwood sunglasses.
The promotions are part of an 500,000 campaign by Italian eyewear firm Allison, which earlier in 2004 set up its first direct European commercial subsidiary, in London, to distribute eyewear brands that also include Exte, Cerruti and Gianfranco Ferre.

history in luxury wear
Allison has a long heritage in luxury eyewear. In 1999, after 40 years in the eyewear market it became part of IT Holding, a luxury goods multinational, a year that it merged with Optiproject. The company was then bought for 62m in October 2004 by Paladin Capital Partners, of the Carisma Group, part of Bain & Company Italy, a worldwide leader in consulting for the luxury goods sector.
To say that 2004 was a busy year for the Padua-based eyewear firm is an understatement. In eyewear terms alone it signed a licence with Italian fashion house Missoni in June and in December announced a similar contract with UK luxury brand Dunhill, while a new line of Mercedes Benz eyewear is also scheduled this year.
Managing director of Allison UK Pierluigi Marinelli explains that the company is growing worldwide, setting up subsidiaries in Spain, Portugal and Germany, as well as the UK office.
'We realised there was a gap in the market that could be filled by Allison as the big manufacturers were getting into retail business with the multiples and leaving the independents alone.'
Indeed, in the eight months since the UK division was set up, he says it has gained market share in top independents countrywide. Nonetheless, it is not expansion for the sake of it. Distribution is tightly controlled - one of the reasons that Allison can service its brands so well, according to Marinelli, who visits the potential practices himself.
As a qualified optometrist in Italy, who also holds a business degree, Marinelli says he knows what opticians need and expect. 'I have grown up behind the desk, knowing what eyewear product is about and dealing with eyewear companies.'
For 2005, Marinelli plans to double the Allison sales force and the company will also be represented at April's Optrafair for the first time. 'Allison is now well represented in the UK. We are planning our budget for 2005 and we want to improve our presence in the market.'
As well as attending Optrafair, there will be a media campaign in fashion magazines from Vogue to Elle, and from Red to Cosmopolitan.
At the same time, Allison is also involved in product placement. For example, it supplied 40 top women's tennis players at Wimbledon with sunglasses last summer.
Interestingly, for an Italian, Marinelli is particularly enthusiastic about its portfolio of UK brands, including the grand dame of punk, Vivienne Westwood, and fellow UK designer John Richmond.
'In Italy we like UK fashions and strongly believe in them, in the same way that the UK likes Italian fashion. We pay attention to English designers and invest money in these great names. There's no reason just to buy Italian and French names,' he says.
He predicts that Dunhill will do extremely well in the UK, and practitioners can expect to see eyewear that reflects the tradition of the brand, with temple features that take in design features from Dunhill lighters of the past, for example.
'People choose us because of our quality and design and that is why Dunhill decided to go with us,' he says.
In contrast with Dunhill, there is nothing traditional or low-key about the John Richmond line, which has a 'rock star look', with the lenses on some sunglasses decorated with the trademark 'Rich' signature in mirror coating.
'John Richmond is phenomenal in Italy. It's our number one brand there and we are waiting for that sort of response here.'
Marinelli is keen to point out that Allison has very close links with the fashion houses, for example Vivienne Westwood, with a sunglass launch held recently at her London boutique. A similar launch is also planned for the other brands.

missoni focuses on women
The Missoni eyewear collection, launched at last October's Silmo exhibition with 60 styles, echoes the luxury clothing line, with a focus on colour and contrast. Some of the women's sunglasses for 2005, for example are vast acetates with brightly striped colours in greens and yellows on the inside of the frames and with laser etched side detailing. Missoni sunglasses are Marinelli's top tip for success in 2005, as UK women and the market in general are now ready for such oversized, colourful creations.
'Every collection has character. Practitioners should look at us as the future, the strongest alternative to the big manufacturers. We really do fashion with our frames and sunglasses. Every collection has its own designer and identity.'
He describes Exte and Romeo Gigli as the trendiest of Allison's eyewear collections, while Mercedes Benz will be its most technical. This is natural for a company Marinelli describes as at the forefront of material development, from the use of aluminium and titanium to NXT.
A similar effort goes into the point of sale and packaging to wrap up the collections, completing the package for the consumer.
The company's efforts seem to be gaining recognition in the UK. Independent practices often start with one collection from Allison and then take on two or three, or in the case of 20/20 on London's Tottenham Court Road, put a store within the store, featuring 12 of the Allison brands.
Such support leads Marinelli to claim that Allison is the fastest growing company in the optical industry and one that aims to build up its profile and sales in the UK.

Allison UK can be contacted on 020 7808 7087 or visit the website at www.allison.it