Take 5 with Safilo’s Oscar Cera

Oscar Cera, managing director for the UK and Nordics at Safilo

Dispensing Optics editor Nicky Collinson talks business, brands and sustainability with Oscar Cera, managing director for the UK and Nordics at Safilo…

NC: How did the pandemic affect Safilo, and are there any continuing challenges?

OC: The impact of the pandemic was felt across our industry and markets because of the supply chain disruptions and the closure of some retail spaces. We saw a bigger impact on the sun category, while demand remained resilient in corrective eyewear due to their essential nature. To navigate the new reality, we offered our partners the appropriate tools to connect with our teams despite the restrictions.

The continued challenges we see today are related to the cost-of-living crisis, so our priority is to explore ways to help customers mitigate them. It is important for Safilo to capitalise on its rich and diverse portfolio to offer the best value-for-money solutions across all eyewear segments.

NC: What is Safilo’s core strategic focus going fowards?

OC: Our strategic focus is to position Safilo as the privileged and strategic partner of opticians – enabling them to be more competitive in the market through our innovative tools and digital resources. We are committed to consistently providing excellent support and service to our customers and contributing to their success. We are building a strong and balanced portfolio of brands, geographies, products and channels, which will help us develop our business across the categories.

NC: How is Safilo achieving sustainability?

OC: Safilo has a purpose-led strategy based on three sustainability pillars: planet, product and people. Sustainability is at the core of our business strategies and is based on developing projects and initiatives that can address the global challenges of tomorrow. We always look for the best balance between present and future, and believe in projects that are not limited to the short term and that have a strong environmental and social responsibility.

For example, we have partnered with Eastman to introduce Eastman Acetate Renew and Eastman Tritan Renew in our sunglasses and optical products. We have also introduced Eastman Tritan Renew in our polarised lenses. This is a first in the eyewear sector: a bilateral collaboration with Eastman regarding technical innovation.

We also joined the Fashion Pact in 2022, a global coalition of companies in the fashion and textile industry including their suppliers and distributors, all committed to a common core of key environmental goals in three areas: stopping global warming, restoring biodiversity, and protecting the oceans.

NC: How is Safilo supporting practitioners in business?

Safilo has a new license with Dsquared2

OC: Our diverse portfolio of brands enables us to provide our customers with the right offering regardless of the challenges they face. This is in line with our strategy to continuously rebalance our brand portfolio with targeted additions that will allow us to gain a leading position in the market.

We are very proud of our fantastic house brands Carrera, Polaroid, Smith, Blenders, Seventh Street, and Privé Revaux, which have an appeal spanning consumers of all ages and demographics. Alongside our premium brand offer, including Boss, Isabel Marant, Missoni, Jimmy Choo, Moschino, we have many lifestyle brands and diffusion ranges such as Tommy Hilfiger, Kate Spade, David Beckham, Love Moschino, M Missoni to name a few.

Our wider team is constantly following up with customers and exploring ways we can work together to navigate the current climate. As a result, we are rolling out different tools to support practitioners as part of an ongoing company-wide, customer-centric digital transformation strategy.

Launched in 2020, our B2B tool You&Safilo is our one-stop-shop solution to order from Safilo’s portfolio of licensed and house brands, manage warranties and access digital marketing materials. We believe it sets a new standard for user-friendly navigation, ease-ofordering, order verification and tracking. The tool is enabling us to strengthen our relationships with customers in remote areas and expand our marketing touchpoints. Following on the success of Y&S, we have launched a WhatsApp channel to offer a simple, quick and effective way to connect with our customer service teams.

NC: What new brands are in the pipeline?

OC: We are excited about our recent launches with new licenses like Dsquared2 and Carolina Herrera helping Safilo strengthen its position in the fashion luxury segment – as well as the athletic performance space with Under Armour. The new Chiara Ferragni partnership also highlights Safilo’s willingness to be more present in the digital universe.