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Vilebrequin launches eyewear, watches and pushes for international retail growth
Vilebrequin has broadened its product range, adding eyewear and watches for the Spring/Summer 2017. The French beachwear label, founded in Saint-Tropez in 1971 and acquired in 2012 by US group G-III Apparel, has launched its first eyewear collection, featuring 22 models, plus one for children, all of them created under licence by Australian manufacturer Sunshades, which will take care of design, production and distribution.
According to information received by FashionNetwork.com, the plan is for the brand to introduce one collection a year to establish the project. The eyewear collection is to be retailed directly in the USA, the UK, Hong Kong, France, Spain, Germany and Benelux and via a handful of leading franchisors in South America, the Middle East, Greece, and Thailand.
From next summer Vilebrequin will also add another novelty to its range, introducing a 12-model watch collection distributed by Caliber. The watches will be manufactured partly in Switzerland and partly in Japan.
In 2016, Vilebrequin recorded a revenue of €60 million, up 10% on 2015, and its forecast is to reach the €75 million mark in 2017, in a year marked by ambitious retail expansion projects. The label plans to open three new stores in Italy in the next few months, including its first shop entirely dedicated to the women's collection, followed by another mono-brand store in the Kifisia district in Athens, and it is looking to continue to grow its direct presence in North America and, via a local partner, in Latin America.
Vilebrequin is also assessing potential partners for openings in China and Japan, and is keen to develop in Germany too.
In general, the brand specified that they are setting their sights on all the major international luxury locations. Vilebrequin's main markets are currently the USA, France and Italy.
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