citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message sunglass hut international current logo sunglass hut in vaughan mills a canadian shopping mall type public industry retail specialty founded 1971 1971 in miami florida usa by sanford l. ziff products sunglasses watches sunglass accessories number of employees 9 200 citation needed parent luxottica website www.sunglasshut.com sunglass hut is an international retailer of sunglasses and sunglass accessories founded in miami florida united states in 1971 . sunglass hut is part of the italian based luxottica group the world s largest eyewear company . from september 2015 sunglass hut became the principal sponsor of london fashion week and london fashion weekend . a three year partnership that sees collaboration with british design talent a wide series of events and a celebration of fashion and culture hosted each february and september in collaboration with the british fashion council . as of december 31 2008 the luxottica group operated 2 286 stores worldwide most of those as part of the sunglass hut brand . sunglass hut stores are located in the united states mexico canada the caribbean brazil continental europe the united kingdom australia new zealand hong kong singapore south africa the middle east including israel and india . contents 1 history 2 stores and locations 3 strategic partnerships 4 technology 5 references 6 external links history edit the first sunglass hut store opened in 1971 when optometrist sanford l. ziff set up in a freestanding kiosk in miami s dadeland mall . the success of this kiosk prompted ziff to open other sunglass hut locations in miami and by 1986 ziff had opened approximately 100 sunglass hut outlets achieving sales of 24 million a year . sunglass hut at the boynton beach mall.this store depicts the older logo and store concept . sunglass hut continued to grow and in 1986 ziff sold a 75 % stake in sunglass hut to connecticut investment firm kidd kamm & co. for us35 million . ziff retained the company s existing management team and shifted part ownership to his son dean . following the partial acquisition the business was incorporated under the name sunglass hut international inc. ziff retired from sunglass hut in 1989 . he and his family retained a 25 percent stake in the business but were no longer involved in its day to day operation . they retained the stake until 1991 when the company s annual sales surpassed 100 million and the ziff family sold the portion of sunglass hut that remained in their control . in 1993 sunglass hut international inc. became a public company with an initial public offering of us 70 million and by 1996 sunglass hut possessed a 30 percent share of the sunglass market in the united states . the company also began selling watches under the names watch station watch world and as combined sunglass hut watch station stores . sunglass hut entered ecommerce in 1998 citation needed when it added the ability to purchase sunglasses to its us website . in february 2001 the luxottica group acquired sunglass hut paying us 653 million including debt 1 and taking possession of 1 300 sunglass hut stores 430 sunglass hut watch station combination stores and 228 stores that operated under either the watch station or watch world banner . under luxottica s control sunglass hut repositioned its brand identity to emphasize the fashion of the sunglasses it sold . the repositioning began in 2003 . citation needed the watch station international chain was sold to fossil inc. in december 2007 . 2 3 stores and locations edit sunglass hut at the natick mall sunglass hut kiosk in sydney sunglass hut operates 2 000 retail outlets in 20 countries 1 562 in north america 157 in australia 44 in new zealand 15 in asia 123 in south africa 81 in the united kingdom and ireland 33 in the middle east and 35 in india . as of 2015 update it is the most common store in american shopping malls . 4 sunglass hut store types include normal retail stores and shopping centre kiosks retailers in airports hotels and outlet centres and premium global stores . sunglass hut has entered into a partnership with macy s to open stores within their department stores . sunglass hut stores have opened in australia china thailand india the united arab emirates bahrain and saudi arabia . in 2011 they continued to grow within central and south america opening up stores in mexico and brazil . strategic partnerships edit from september 2015 in a three year deal sunglass hut became the principal sponsor of both london fashion week and london fashion weekend . each season in collaboration with the british fashion council sunglass hut organises a series of events and activities to celebrate british fashion including collaborations with emerging and leading british fashion brands such as henry holland and gareth pugh . sunglass hut has sought to increase sales by creating partnerships with designer fashion labels . in april 2009 sunglass hut and prada created a one week only prada concept store in the rockefeller centre new york . sunglass hut teamed up with nicaraguan artist chris mendoza in november 2008 to create individualized pairs of ray ban wayfarers on location at sunglass hut s soho store in new york . other artistic collaborations include a collection by graffiti artist claw money . in 2010 an exclusive to sunglass hut rayban rare print was launched featuring american graphic design artist matt w. moore . the series launched some of matt s work in graphic design and artistry . in an effort to gain more from social media outlets sunglass hut launched a full time fabulous contest in 2010 . bloggers fashionistas and customers were invited to try out to be the next it girl for sunglass hut n.a. the contest showcased the top bloggers of the week being voted for by fans who visited the sunglass hut website . the winner was a new yorker kristy elena . her prize included a one year contract with sunglass hut to write articles about the brand and sunglasses . other prizes included a furnished apartment in nyc trips to fashion week and sunglasses . technology edit in 2009 sunglass hut introduced in store photo booths called social sun that allow customers to take a picture of themselves trying on sunglasses in store as well as email the photos or send them by multimedia message mms to a mobile phone . references edit luxottica to buy sunglass hut for 462m feb. 22 2001 . cnn.com . canadian trade mark data . ic.gc.ca . https www.fossilgroup.com careers our story gambrell dorothy ; clark patrick february 10 2015 . the average american mall explained in 6 charts . bloomberg business . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to sunglass hut . http www.sunglasshut.com http www.sunglasshut.co.uk http www.sunglasshut.com.au http www.sunglasshut.co.nz http www.sunglasshut.co.za retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title sunglass hut international & oldid 737859414 categories eyewear retailers of the united statescompanies established in 1971luxotticaeyewear retailers of australiahidden categories articles needing additional references from february 2015all articles needing additional referencesall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from february 2015articles containing potentially dated statements from 2015all articles containing potentially dated statementscommons category with local link same as on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links 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