Given Ray-Ban’s success in the field, young entrepreneurs who are just starting their ventures or figuring out how to achieve sustainable growth can learn something from Ray-Ban. The brand’s strategies have helped keep them relevant despite evolving trends and market demands. By taking a page out of their book, fledgling business owners can look to build a business that fosters lifelong customer trust.
Eyewear brand Ray-Ban is one of the biggest names in eyewear, a reputation the brand has upheld for decades. To this day, Ray-Ban is a huge earner and sees success in its timeless glasses and sunglasses, which have long been fashion staples. Ray-Ban has also contributed significantly to the growth of its parent company, EssilorLuxottica, which saw a 3.7% revenue boost for the fiscal year 2023 and a third consecutive year of steady growth. Even with 90 years of business under its belt, Ray-Ban isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
Here’s what young entrepreneurs can learn from eyewear powerhouse Ray-Ban:
Strategic partnerships
As a brand, Ray-Ban has had a thriving relationship with Hollywood and the music industry, both of which have kept their eyewear coveted and highly sought after, as with the case of Tom Cruise sporting their famous Aviators in 1986’s Top Gun. The brand has embraced its spot in popular culture, using these platforms to promote its products or launch new ones. Ray-Ban often collaborated with celebrities and influencers across these industries to reach a wider audience. Special collaborations also draw attention to newer products and innovations. The brand’s collection with singer and actor Lenny Kravitz allowed Ray-Ban to highlight its new reverse lenses through a limited collection. It also gives the brand a new stylish edge thanks to Lenny Kravitz’s reputation for being daring with fashion.
Of course, a newer and smaller company might struggle with recruiting household names for these types of partnerships, but Ray-Ban’s success highlights how key collaborations in cultural spaces can get your brand’s name out there. Viral content on TikTok, for instance, allows you to reach more people you want to sell to, so look into working with influencers who fit your brand and create opportunities for word-of-mouth promotion.
Quality product range
Sure, influencer marketing can go a long way in establishing your brand and attracting customers. Still, even the most innovative campaigns can fall short if your products or services fail to meet customer expectations. Ray-Ban walks the talk by offering timeless, quality pieces that strengthen their credibility and customer trust. Over the decades, Ray-Ban eyeglasses and sunglasses have retained the craftsmanship and high-quality present in their original designs. Models like the Wayfarer and Clubmaster and their Optic versions have stood the test of time and the ever-changing trend cycles due to their high-end look and feel, which many eyewear brands falter to maintain over the decades.
As a young entrepreneur or business owner, you should invest in your offerings and ensure they’re top quality before anything else. Check-in with suppliers, attend trade fairs and dedicate your time to research and development — keeping customer happiness at the forefront of your efforts. If your products and services speak for themselves, it can help build your reputation and keep customers returning.
Adapting to current demands
Though Ray-Ban values its all-American heritage, it keeps products updated and relevant to modern consumers, allowing them to stay up-to-date with changing times and values. While they could have stopped with their original goal of creating aviation sunglasses to help minimize glare for pilots, Ray-Ban continues to develop cutting-edge eyewear, entering the wearable tech market with the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Ray-Ban combines its authentic eyewear designs with Meta’s tech expertise, offering wearers photo and video taking, high-quality audio, live streaming capabilities, and artificial intelligence features in stylish models. These smart glasses can be easily incorporated into today’s highly digitalized society. Sustainability is also an increasing demand, with greater consumer pressure to focus on eco-friendly products and ethical production. Ray-Ban has also adapted to this, offering bio-based models like the Corrigan and Zena.
Young entrepreneurs should keep their finger on the pulse to adjust to their target audience’s demands, preferences, and values. Our “A Bigger and Better Mindset for Lean Hypergrowth” post emphasizes the importance of staying ahead of future needs, allowing your company to evolve while keeping customers loyal. Balancing change with core brand identity can enable your business to stand out and remain relevant for longer.
