Innovative Eyewear Inc. announced on Tuesday a 42 percent surge in sales for the full-year 2024 to $1.6 million, as the smart eyewear manufacturer rolled out some key product launches during the 12 months.
Innovative Eyewear
The Miami-based company witnessed an increase in unit sales volume for the year ending December 31, largely driven by product launches of the co-branded Nautica Powered by Lucyd and Eddie Bauer Powered by Lucyd collections, as well as the Lucyd Armor safety smart glasses line.
Revenues were also spurred on by investments in marketing and advertising, as well as increased public interest and growth in smart glasses and the wearable products category, said the company in a statement.
Despite the sales progression, the company said net losses widened to $7.8 million or a loss of $5.19 per share for the year, compared with a net loss of $6.7 million, or a loss of $10.87 per share.
For the fourth quarter, revenue was $690,688, the company’s highest quarterly revenue since its inception, an increase of 12 percent.
“Our 2024 fourth quarter revenue was our best quarter yet, and we have continued the trend of outperforming sales each quarter on a year-over-year basis, for the last 18 months,” said Harrison Gross, CEO of Innovative Eyewear Inc., a developer of ChatGPT-enabled smart eyewear, under the Lucyd, Nautica, Eddie Bauer and Reebok brands.
“As we look ahead to 2025, we believe we are well positioned to build on our momentum and significantly grow both our total revenues and our market share. I am particularly excited about the potential of our upcoming Reebok product lines which we will be launching in 2025 coupled with the continued significant traction of the Lucyd Armor smart safety glasses.”
Dolce Gabbana Srl, LVMH’s Louis Vuitton and Kering SA’s Gucci are set to anchor a new luxury retail development in South Africa’s VA Waterfront, according to the head of one of the continent’s most visited shopping and tourism destinations.
Cape Town’s VA is tripling the size of space available for rent to luxury retailers to almost 4,000 square meters (43,056 square feet) in a dedicated new wing, David Green, its chief executive officer, said in an interview. That comes amid growing demand for high-end goods in South Africa’s second-biggest city.
Representatives for Dolce Gabbana and Louis Vuitton didn’t respond to request for comment, and a spokesperson for Gucci declined to comment.
While the firms already have stores at the VA, these are dispersed among its other retail outlets. The new development will bring the mall’s luxury retailers under one roof, with store space for the three brands set to double, Green said.
In all, the new 207 million rand ($11.4 million) development expects to add as many as six new brands, including Capri Holdings Ltd.’s Versace, to existing offerings like Burberry Group Plc and MaXhosa Africa.
Africa is emerging as a burgeoning market for luxury goods driven by strong economic growth, an expanding middle class, increasing consumer spending power and a rising millionaire population. Output in the sub-Saharan region will probably expand 4.2% this year, making it the third-fastest growing emerging- and developing-market behind India and China, according International Monetary Fund estimates.
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South Africa, the continent’s richest nation, is the most established regional market for designer goods. Trading density for luxury brands in malls increased 171% in the five years through June 2024, according to Clur’s Shopping Centre Index, which tracks 4.1 million square meters of prime retail space in the country and neighboring Namibia.
The VA’s new development will see it “narrow the gap” with the Johannesburg-based luxury arcade known as The Diamond Walk in Sandton City, Green said. The surrounding precinct in South Africa’s economic hub is referred to as Africa’s richest square mile given its concentration of top businesses, high-net worth individuals and opulent homes.
Still, South Africa has among the world’s highest unemployment and inequality rates and is only just recovering from decades of moribund growth.
Demand for designer goods in Cape Town is partly driven by international tourists, including affluent shoppers from the rest of the continent, and the migration of wealthy families from other parts of the country, he said. The metro will overtake Johannesburg to become Africa’s richest city by 2030, according to Henley Partners.
Construction on the VA’s luxury development, located in South Africa’s oldest working harbor and set against the backdrop of Table Mountain, has already started. It will open for business in phases from November through next Easter.
The VA registered record retail sales of 1.4 billion rand in December, its peak period, Green said — up nearly 17% from a year earlier. Stores sold more than 10 billion rand in goods in 2024, about 7% of which were luxury items, he said.
The company is jointly owned by government-worker pension fund manager Public Investment Corp. and Growthpoint Properties Ltd., South Africa’s biggest listed real estate firm. It’s also planning a 20 billion rand expansion of the adjacent Granger Bay precinct, and expects to receive permission for the development, which involves reclaiming land from the sea, from City of Cape Town authorities in the first half of 2025.
TikTok Shop is keen to challenge e-commerce platforms like Amazon and eBay, and will officially launch in Italy, France and Germany on March 31, featuring short videos, customised digital shopfronts, and live-streaming sessions in which questions by potential customers can be answered in real time.
TikTok
Users will be able to purchase the products that appear in their ‘for you’ video feeds, or directly from the social commerce platform during live-streamed sessions. While vendors, from major brands to local SMEs and creators, will promote their products via interactive videos and live shopping sessions. The latter in particular are a faster, more interactive way of connecting with customers, something of a 5.0 version of TV shopping channels.
In Italy, 22.8 million TikTok users will be able to purchase items showcased by creators in real time or via recorded content.
“The experience is similar to buying in a physical store: vendors can answer live questions from users, show their products from different angles, and provide highly personalised advice,” said Jan Wilk, head of operations at TikTok Shop UK.
TikTok’s algorithm, as it does for non-sponsored videos, will display to users the content and hence products that best fit with their preferences. TikTok Shop said there will be “strict checks on products and vendors,” in line with the platform’s rules, but consumer associations are perplexed. In Italy, Codacons said that “the very essence of TikTok, which can generate forms of compulsive shopping” is one of the service’s “critical issues.”
TikTok Shop is a member of Netcomm, the association of digital commerce operators in Italy.
Featuring on TikTok Shop “will boost Goovi’s digital presence, amplify engagement with our community, and enable us to reach new audiences with a strong inclination for social commerce,” said Giorgia Lixi, digital and e-commerce manager for natural cosmetics and supplements brand Goovi, talking to the ANSA agency. “We believe TikTok Shop can contribute significantly to the growth of our online sales segment,” she added.
“We’re expecting a positive impact, both among my existing followers and those who will discover my brand and products for the first time,” said fashion and lifestyle TikToker New Martina, who underlined that “my live sessions clock up on average 100,000 views, leading to increased site traffic and more orders.”
Five women who allege being abused by the late billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed are planning to launch a legal claim against his estate, UK-based lawyers said Monday.
Al-Fayed – AFP
Law firm Leigh Day said it had taken the first step in the legal process to bring personal injury claims against the estate of the Egyptian tycoon, who died in 2023 aged 94, on behalf of five women who worked as nannies and private air stewards.
Hundreds of women have in recent months alleged sexual abuse and rape by the former boss of the upmarket London department store Harrods.
The allegations follow the airing of a BBC documentary last September that detailed claims of rape and sexual assault perpetrated by Al-Fayed, most of which were made by women who were employed at Harrods.
The new claims are from women who were employed by Al-Fayed’s private airline Fayair or by his family’s businesses outside of Harrods between 1995 and 2012.
The five women were subject to “serious sexual abuse, harassment and mistreatment”, with some facing “verbal abuse and threats” when they tried to raise concerns, said lawyer Richard Meeran.
“It is important that his estate is also made legally accountable for the widespread abuse he perpetrated against those who may never have had dealings with the famous store,” added Meeran.
The “pre-action” letters sent to Al-Fayed’s estate “mark the first formal step in the legal process prior to the commencement of court proceedings,” a Leigh Day spokesperson said.
The law firm is in total representing 27 women who allege abuse by Al-Fayed and his late brother Salah Fayed.
The lawyers are pursuing civil compensation claims and pressing for an independent public inquiry.
More than 100 potential victims have contacted London’s Metropolitan police after it opened a new investigation into sexual assault claims against Mohamed Al-Fayed.
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group has received over 400 inquiries, mainly related to the store, but also regarding Fulham football club, the Ritz Hotel in Paris and other entities.
Harrods has said that it has been contacted by more than 250 people seeking to negotiate an out-of-court settlement.
Three women have also accused the last surviving brother, Ali Fayed, 81, of assault. A spokesperson for Ali Fayed said he denied the accusations.”
Entertainment8 years ago