Anon S/S 2024 SUNGLASSES Preview

Retail Buyers Guide: Sunglasses S/S 2024 Retail Buyer‘s Guide
Brand: Anon
Interviewee: Benjamin Schwarz – Senior Brand Manager Europe

What are the current trends in sunglasses for board sports?

From cheap glasses to fast glasses, trends are all over the map. We chose to focus on classic, timeless premium designs made for the skin track to sharing a beer in the parking lot after an awesome expedition.

How have your sales been in 2023 so far?

Coming ouf of a strong winter season, we planted a soft relaunch of our sunglasses beginning of May by making some adjustments. We enforced the storytelling tactic on our website and through social, also raffling some free pairs. Further we featured our ambassadors with quotes from their daily usage of the products. Lastly we adjusted pricing to have a more holistic approach; noew beginning at 199€ vs. 230€ before. These tactics have lead to a slight increase in sales – yet we are still working on our brand awareness in this product category and summer season. We will keep you updated on the progress.

What frame shapes and colours do you offer in your SS24 collection?

We offer five unique sunglasses to choose from. All are hand-crafted, polarized, and designed to endure. There is no specific SS24 collection, models are carrying over. Per style we have 2 to three colorways; ranging from a simple black to a more fashionable rosewood.

How are you segmenting your sunglasses?

We offer 2 lifestyle models, 2 Sport/Lifestyle models and one Sport-Specific model. We are still in our launch phase, and plan to test via DTC for at least two years. Launching in the premium space with designs that are unique to the market, we need the ability to test pricing, styles, timing, etc. prior to going to the wholesale market.

Where do you expect your biggest growth in 2023?

We expect a steady growing demand for our sunglass offering by focusing on our strong winter customer base first. It was never the plan to outgrow the market or be a major competitor – rather extending our innovation and story from winter to summer with the perceive lens technology in all our products.

What frame shapes and colors are most popular from your offering and why?

So far, the surprise hit has been our Winderness frame. It is a sport-specific model and is one of the few shields that comes with a polarized lens on the market. The second low-light lens was fine tuned for the dark woods of Vermont and will work great in any low-light condition.

What lens technologies are you currently working with?

All of our sunglasses feature our Perceive Polarized lenses. Perceive is our proprietary lens technology that offers true color contrast, high-definition lenses and hydrophobic and oleophobic lens coatings, all with the glare reducing benefits of a premium polarized lens filters. The number one comment we get about our sunglass line is that our lenses are absolutely incredible.

Which lens colours and tints are you offering this year?

Our lenses really align with our top goggle lenses. Sunny Red, Sunny Bronze and Sunny Onyx with Perceive Cloudy Rose being a unique lens we are testing in the Winderness.

What are the main materials used in your 2023 sunglasses offering?

All our glasses are made by true artisans in Japan which is super unique for our space. We only use the most premium acetate and injected nylon frame materials, along with titanium and stainless-steel embellishments. Styles like the Advocate and Strategists took inspiration from glacier glasses we found in the Alps with integrated side shields and wrap around ear-stems on the Strategist.

What are your marketing stories?

Whether you’re celebrating a springtime powder day, touring the local mountain, or kicking back on a patio after skiing with friends, we are promoting the them of bound for adventure , for everyone really to find the right frame for their endeavors. Again here leveraging real-life usage cases of our ambassadors.

How are you helping retailers sell this category?

We are testing and learning ourselves so when we come to them, we know exactly what works and what doesn’t.

Best Sellers

WINDERNESS – When looking at the Sell Through percentage – the Winderness has established itself as our bestseller. It combines exceptional performance and style into one sleek, fast, and comfortable frame with the option to alternate lenses between sunny and low-light conditions. Really our performance model built for versatility; whether its biking, hiking, running or just looking sharp on any summer festivals.

OPPORTUNITS – That’s the style we sold the most units from in total. No surprise really as they are a classic in shape to suit any style, whether you’re in for a casual day out or afternoon aprés. The full cellulose acetate frame keeps it light and comfortable for all-day wear and comes equipped with the enhanced performance of Perceive Polarized lens technology.

Strategist

Winderness

Opportunist