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A lessandro Zanardo, CEO of the LVMH clutch of premium sunglass brands, staged a packed press conference in the exhibition yesterday to explain the strategic thinking of “the youngest company in the category”. Thélios has recently expanded to 12 brands, including two proprietary brands, with the recent acquisition of Barton Perreira, “a highly-creative ‘made in Japan’ American brand with a range of understated luxury.” In the past year Thélios has also acquired Vuarnet, the renowned French high- end outdoor sunglass brand, which brings over 60 years of pioneering manufacture of mineral lenses to the portfolio. “We have made it our mission to elevate the category and travel retail is the very best environment to do this – we have had incredible results from our store in at Hamad International Airport, partnered with Qatar Duty Free, although it is not our intention to become a retailer, but to extend the global reach of our multiple brands; in that respect 2024 has been an amazing year for Thélios.” RivieraVillageRH5 Thélios CEO stages press conference: “Our journey is far from finished” Tuesday 1 Oc tobe r 2024 42 T F W A D A I L Y