How Ray Ban Became the King of Sunglasses

you are watching Kings every Saturday we tell the story of how big brands conquered the world how ray-ban became the king of sunglasses welcome to a Lux calm the place where future billionaires come to get inspired if you're not subscribed yet you're missing out hello a lack sirs it's great to have you with us today as we break down how ray-ban does more than block out the Sun in this video we're looking at how the company came to be the strategy they used the struggles they had to overcome and if you watch until the end you'll learn what the future holds for this sunglasses Empire Ray Ban the big picture in the world of fashion sunglasses there's one name that automatically steps into the spotlight or rather the sunlight none other than the iconic brand Ray Ban their reputation is known worldwide and is synonymous with remarkable design and performance Ray Ban is headquartered in Milan Italy previously they were headquartered in Bentonville Arkansas before being sold to luxottica group as part of the luxottica group Ray Ban makes up 14% of the global market share fighting for their share of sunlight against brands like Oakley Costa del Mar and Maui Jim sunglasses their step into the sunlight might have meant enduring days that were overcast but let's see how it all began the beginning Ray Bans story begins in the mid-1800s in Rochester New York here we find two German immigrants John Jacob Bosch the son of a baker and Henry loam a cabinet maker partnering to open a business handling optical goods loan loaned Bausch a whopping sum of $60 to grow the business by the opening of their retail shop Bausch and Lomb was shirring and importing eyeglasses and other optical instruments such as binoculars telescopes and microscopes during the beginning of the 1900s it was John Bao his son William Bausch that invented a technique to create lenses from molten glass this technique reduced their production time the use of raw material and cost to produce Vashon loam became the pioneers of producing optical glass in the United States as we enter the 30s US Army Air Corps Colonel John McCready was concerned about the visibility of pilots at high altitudes as their present goggles would fog up McCready worked with Bausch and Lomb to create the first sunglasses prototype known as the anti glare over the next two years they redesigned the sunglasses adding impact resistant lenses and a metal frame until finally in the late 30s the first Ray Ban aviator was patented Ray Ban quickly gained popularity and went from pilots to those who enjoyed life outdoors later that year they launched the Ray Ban shooter with Cala chrome lenses that filter out blue light and sharpens the details making it perfect for misty conditions then the following year they launched the Ray Ban outdoorsman that carried skeet glass designed for those who enjoy hunting shooting and fishing the struggle as we cover these brands we learn how much the wars played either vital or damaging roles for two years while Henry loam served in the American Civil War Bausch ran the business it was during this time he stumbled across a beneficial discovery he found a piece of Vulcan I trub saw the potential to make stronger yet less expensive Vulcan ight frames for eyeglasses during those times a wireframe were made from gold and horn-rimmed frames were made of tortoiseshell and in some instances European deer antler all very expensive materials so wearing eyeglasses may have been considered a luxury item as with all wars there was a block on imported items and the price of gold and European deer antler increased creating a high demand for bow & Lomb vulcan ight frame glasses the US government also became Bausch and Lomb major customer during World War one as there was a demand for searchlight mirrors periscopes gun sights and other military applications the defining moment no one benefits from war however ray-bans involvement with the military saw them a ride the fashion trend of the 40s where citizens war military regulation t-shirts and wanting to emulate pilots they sought after new sunglasses Ray Ban moved from being solely for the military to a fashion brand by the 1950s Ray Ban struck Hollywood and the big screen their new model the ray-ban Wayfarer was being worn by Hollywood star James Dean in rebel without a cause and later on by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's in the 1960s in fact the ray-ban Wayfarer became one of their most recognized sunglasses strategy in the 60s Ray Ban was becoming fully immersed with the pop culture of that era and took full advantage of it they were becoming the world leader in eyewear from producing approximately 30 models at the beginning of the decade to over 50 models by the 1970s with their styles for all age groups and genders Ray Ban continued making models to adorn the Hollywood celebrities well into the 1970s one notable design was the Ray Ban Balarama worn by Clint Eastwood in the movie Harry by this time ray-ban had positioned themselves well with the outdoor and sports enthusiasts as well as in the fashion-forward circles innovation in eyewear was also shaping the industry with the introduction of soft contact lenses Bausch and Lomb received approval to sell soft contact lenses from the US Food and Drug Administration which established an entirely new division for the company between the 80s and 90s Ray Ban dominated stages and the big screen movie after movie musicians and actors Ray Ban was becoming almost omnipresent it was at the 1984 Grammys in a pair of Ray Ban aviators Michael Jackson created his signature look Denzel Washington wore the Ray Ban Club master in his role as Malcolm X and what would Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones be considered in men and black without those array band predators worn in the movie all of this attention caught the eye of Italian eyewear conglomerate the luxottica group and they purchased Bausch and Lomb for a reported 640 million dollars the value since becoming part of luxottica ray bands went from being sold for 19 dollars to 150 dollars even with the change in price Ray Ban was already the brand that everyone wanted to be seen in as it became more of a fashion accessory owning a pair of ray-bans became the dream of every fashion-forward individual that wanted to look like one of their favorite celebrity icons as with most brands you're not just paying for a name you're paying for the craftsmanship with each pair of ray-bans it comes down to what it's made of and how its constructed luxottica holds extremely high standards for its china factory the frames are made from the same cereals and using the same machinery you would find in Italy it also helps to deal with the incredibly high number of rayban replicas on the market the ray-ban brand remains listed as one of the most replicated brands in the world in the last five years luxottica identified 12 million units of replicas ray-bans and they have closed down over 120,000 fake websites however 86 percent of these offences are in Chinese markets as always at a lakhs we will never endorse the purchasing of replicas that affects companies brands employment and the health and safety of consumers controversy despite their omnipresence in the late 1990s before being purchased by luxottica ray-bans classic style started to lose their appeal with changing fashion trends and reports of their frames being inferior started to appear however there have been so many notable moments in their history one such moment being the launch of their never hide campaign it started in Times Square in New York with 12 screens showing images submitted by ray-ban wearers who wanted to express themselves the images were also displayed in a gallery on Ravens website so it could be experienced worldwide ray-bans idea behind this was to highlight it was as much of a movement as it was a brand the results from inception Bausch and Lomb answered the call with ray-ban fulfilling a need for the military to becoming a brand of aspiration after luxottica took ray-ban off its year-long hiatus and redesigned the product luxottica x' major transformation gave ray-ban the breath of life it once had Ray Ban launched a range of eyewear specifically for children which included hypoallergenic frames that were durable and lightweight and also improved upon their prescription sunglasses blending design and function in a lucrative market ray-bans iconic disposition brought iconic collaborations and partnerships as well techno star Nina Kravitz teamed up to design three models to being limited-edition and one being produced regularly called the Nina most recently luxottica fortified their partnership with luxury car brand ferrari agreeing to a multi-year licensing agreement for the design manufacturing distribution and sale of a range of eyewear branded Ferrari and Ray Ban the future luxe otakus plan since purchasing ray-ban has been better products more locations and stronger alliances with an incredible 9,000 retail locations they dominate a healthy 80% of the market due to luxottica stronghold in retail outlets they are literally in control over the most popular distribution channels and can push brands out of the market luxottica and ray-ban have taken full advantage of technology to create unique user experiences six years ago they started remix this allowed customers to customize their glasses by mixing different frames materials and styles in over 220,000 different possible combinations remix generates 40% of the brand's online revenue a year later ray-ban partnered with Google in the development of Google glass a special pair of glasses that enables wearers to operate them as a smartphone fully voice-activated you would be able to access the internet make calls and take photos they are still working out some of the legal issues in regards to privacy and finalizing agreements on the design marrying technology with a style of ray-ban keeping with forging the right alliances two years ago luck sokka merged with another optics company out of friends called SLR combined they control over a quarter of the global value in eyewear sales as of October last year their combined market value is approximately 64 billion dollars staying true to their core values which were always to make a great product with amazing designs and quality ray-ban added what they call light force a thermoplastic material that is lighter more durable and flexible keeping them at the forefront of being able to create and provide the best range of products for their customers closing it has been 82 years since the first pairs of Ray Ban aviators adorned u.s. pilots and they remain a classic today throughout its existence Ray Ban thrived and continues to influence many aspects of pop culture across multiple industries with their vision and forward thinking ray ban will remain the iconic brand that is today they are definitely the king of sunglasses now a Luxor's before you go we're curious which Ray Bans style is your favorite let us know down in the comments and we're sticking with us to the end you get a bonus here it is Tom Cruise's movies have single-handedly raised - Ray Bans sales twice after crews wore a pair of Wayfarers and not much else in risky business sales reportedly shot up 50% then three years later when he traded his Wayfarers for aviators and top gun sales shot up once again thank you for spending some time with us a Lexus make sure to subscribe so you never miss another video we also hand-picked these videos for you to watch next as always the conversation continues on social media thanks again and we can't wait to have you back tomorrow

Channel: Alux.com

Views: 79,752

Rating: 4.8043137 out of 5

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Id: Q3CQSihl7iw

Length: 15min 36sec (936 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 22 2019