Bolle Brands Moves North American Headquarters To Carlsbad
Following its recent acquisition of Spy Optics in late 2019, Bollé Brands has moved its US corporate headquarters into Spy’s California headquarters and will now run all of its US operations out of Carlsbad.
The move puts all of the Bollé Brands under one roof in the United States, including not just Bollé and Spy Optics, but also the iconic fashion brand Serengeti as well as Cébé and the new H2Optix brand.
Bollé Brands global headquarters remain Lyon, France and the company continues to take a leadership position in the design, conception and production of performance sport, lifestyle and fashion sunglasses, ski and bike helmets and goggles.
At the same time, Bollé has been hard at work making improvements to the brand in Lyon with the launch of two new major initiatives – CUSTOMER FIRST and EPIC.
The CUSTOMER FIRST PROGRAM is designed to deliver premium service and systems to all of Bollé Brands’ retailers.
“We strive to provide our retail partners with optimal conditions so they can offer our consumers the best possible Bollé experience,” said Louis Cisti, Global VP Marketing, Bollé Brands.
EPIC is Bollé’s new design and innovation program. EPIC, which stands for Excellence In Product Innovation and Creativity, allows Bollé’s production teams to develop the best and most innovative, performance driven products available in the marketplace.
“We have chosen to make this the focus of the brand, and the contribution that the EPIC center makes to the brand is a key component in this process. It is also why we have invested heavily in the brand to design and develop products that are perfectly adapted to performance sports,” said Cisti.
Cisti notes the innovation coming out of EPIC can already be seen in Bollé’s new Phantom lenses which feature new flagship technologies. The first is the material: NXT that raises optical clarity to a new level. It is also extremely light and highly resistant to impact making it ideal for sport. Phantom has three advantages:
- Polarization that blocks parasitic light reflections from all surfaces including water, sea and snow.
- A high-end contrast filter which enhances colors whatever your playground.
- Photochromic technology which allow the lenses to lighten and darken to adapt to conditions. This feature is particularly beneficial for reducing eye fatigue, a real benefit for cycling races which are often very long.A key component to the EPIC program is the partnership Bollé has with its athletes who work in partnership with the development team to provide valuable insights that are used throughout the product development process.“That’s why we have chosen the best Alpine ski team in the world including French skiers Alexis Pinturault and Tessa Worley as well as budding champion Alice Robinson who won the opening race in the Sölden world cup earlier this season. In the US, we are really proud to sponsor and work with the Olympic freestyle champion David Wise, the most talented and successful freeskier of his generation and probably in the history of his sport.Our sunglass range also has a strong partnership with the AG2R LA MONDIALE, UCI pro tour Cycling team and their leader Romain Bardet. Their insights are invaluable.”
Cisti notes that a primary focus of Bollé’s direction going forward is focused on performance and innovation combined with the brands history and exceptional French heritage.
“We have a strong hand complete with our French know-how and heritage and our expertise. And we intend to play it for all its worth,” said Cisti.