Hawkers, the brand that revolutionised the sunglasses industry, takes Australia by storm

Hawkers, the best-selling sunglasses brand via e-commerce has landed in Australia, with the same unprecedented success it achieved in Europe and 50 other countries around the world.

Hawkers is a Spanish company which emerged on the internet two and a half years ago with the aim of revolutionising the sunglasses industry by means of a clear proposal: high-quality, designer sunglasses at a fair price.

In 2011, four university friends Alex and David Moreno, Iñaki Soriano and Pablo Sánchez boldly took the decision to leverage their knowledge of computer engineering to create the platform which would soon bring them success.

In just two and a half years, they have become one of the most highly regarded and recognised brands by young people around the world, and they have billed a total of AUD $129M in more than 50 countries.

Their digital strategy has revolutionised how brands operate on social media, winning them the National Marketing Prize. They also gained recognition from Facebook as one of the companies with the best advertising performance in EMEA and were selected by Google as pioneers of the programme for high-potential companies, making them the subject of a case study on Twitter.

They began by investing in advertising on Facebook with a €50 voucher (AUD $71). They currently invest almost €15,000 (AUD $21,500) per day in advertising, bringing them 15 million views.

Thanks to reverse engineering, they optimised their online advertising with a trial and error strategy. The interpretation of data allowed them to turn €300 (AUD $429) of initial budget into €90M (AUD $129M) on self-financing to become one of the most special companies in the world.

Following their rapid expansion, the brand has become more embedded in the market, allowing them to create limited editions for companies such as Mercedes-Benz, PlayStation, Ford, Hard Rock and Pay Pal, the latter of which has recognised the company as its Best Success Story.

The triumph of the Hawkers brand is also linked to celebrities. Footballer Luis Suárez, DJ Steve Aoki, motoGP racer Alex Rins, and model Andrés Velencoso, are some of their most well-known ambassadors, along with Usher, Kobe Bryant and Dani Alves who wear their sunglasses purely due to the affinity for the brand and promote them on their social networks. Another of their major achievements is being sponsors of an NBA team. The company holds the production and merchandising licence for the official Los Angeles Lakers sunglasses.

Hawkers sunglasses are designed for people with a bold yet relaxed outlook on life. They are light, resistant and come in a wide range of colours and styles. The frames are made from long-lasting polycarbonate and acetate. All models include polarised lenses and 100% UV protection. Unlike the Fast Fashion business model, Hawkers does not sell a product at a low price, but it sells a brand at a fair price. This turns it into a smart purchase. They call this new business model: "Smart Value Fashion".

Hawkers is more than a brand that sells sunglasses – it carries out digital strategies and offers the general public a product at an affordable price, due to the absence of intermediaries. The brand has positioned itself as a reference in the new digital economy in Europe and around the world. It has broken sales records in several marketplaces, such as Amazon, making it the bestselling product in the history of Amazon Fashion.

The next 12 months will be a year for new products and international expansion. With the brand’s arrival in Australia, the company is aiming to replicate the business model which has triumphed in Europe. Hawkers is the perfect accessory for creating a cool, everyday look at a fair price.