Eyeglasses: a complex, quality product
Eyeglasses are a complex product to develop and produce. This is what Safilo wanted to remind us about and see for ourselves on an organized visit to the headquarters in Padua and the facility at Santa Maria di Sala, a visit that allowed us to have direct contact with the entire production process from design to worldwide distribution.
“Eyeglasses are a highly complex product”, Safilo CEO - Roberto Vedovotto - repeated, “and the end-consumer does not always realize the amount of labor and precision that is required to guarantee the high standards of quality that have always characterized our products”.
The figures sum up a huge capacity for innovation: 150 designers, 3,000 new models every year. At the Safilo Style Center in Padua, the journey begins with what is just an idea and continues through a long process that ends with a high-quality product. This is the basis of the Group’s strategy that is oriented toward increasing profitability by continuing to improve production efficiency. Some of the guidelines identified for achieving this aim were described by Vedovotto: “with the exception of Soltice in the United States, we have given up the chains and we have abandoned retail to focus on wholesale; our goal is to optimize our brand portfolio to increase the value of the designer brands we have under license and that of our house brands”.
The Padua-based Group handles about thirty brands, which include the best-known on the international fashion scene, and five house brands: Safilo, Oxydo, Blue Bay, Carrera and Smith. In addition, Safilo has the advantage of being present in over 130 countries and this is very important for the brands: “if brands want a global presence, there are only a few reference companies and Safilo is an excellent partner”.
A corner of the world in Padua is the Call Center, an innovative concept in after-sales service. This large office is divided into international zones (Italy, Portugal, France, Germany, Switzerland, Benelux, Spain and Eastern Europe) with a toll-free number for each country. Customers’ requests are channeled from the Center to the heart of the company to accelerate the time for solving any problems.
Safilo is attentive to the market and focuses on maintaining its traditional high quality. “Recently, the end-consumer”, Roberto Vedovotto underscored, “has been paying more attention to value for money when it comes to products and we must bear this in mind. Given the company’s improved situation at this time, we intend to keep the current 32 subsidiaries and concentrate more on sell out activity, which will help opticians to display and enhance our products”.
