PARIS — Luxurious eyewear label Ahlem has recruited Enrico Sanavia as its first chief government officer.
That is the primary time the 10-year-old impartial model has employed a CEO. The manager joined the corporate on Thursday and succeeds founder and artistic director Ahlem Manai-Platt, who will think about inventive route and design.
Sanavia’s “distinctive observe file within the luxurious eyewear sector, coupled along with his deep understanding of client traits,” made him a becoming selection for a roadmap that features doubling the dimensions of the enterprise in three years, mentioned Manai-Platt.
He will likely be based mostly in New York Metropolis.
Ahlem Manai-Platt
Courtesy of Ahlem
Most just lately, the Italian native served as head of Thélios Americas, the U.S. subsidiary of the LVMH-owned eyewear producer, a task he held for seven years and which noticed him play a pivotal function in establishing a robust market presence, together with the launch of the corporate’s first direct subsidiary in Latin America. He additionally served as president of Vuarnet, the French eyewear label acquired by Thélios in 2023.
Previous to that, he spent eight years at Safilo, lastly as New York-based vice chairman of brand name administration. A graduate of the Ca’ Foscari College of Venice in Italy, he minimize his tooth in advertising and marketing and technique at United Colours of Benetton.
For Manai-Platt, Sanavia’s appointment is a departure from the corporate’s first decade as a “very horizontal” group and alerts a readiness for the following step of development.
“He’s coming to an organization that has construction, has operations prepared for him to really do his job correctly,” she advised WWD in a joint interview. “If he got here right into a crew that had no expertise, he can’t do magic. However now, he can develop the corporate in the appropriate route, which is making every little thing so sturdy and serve the target of constructing Ahlem essentially the most recognizable luxurious eyewear model on the planet.”
Having adopted Ahlem’s improvement through the years, the brand new government expressed enthusiasm at becoming a member of “a model with a singular positioning, that has constructed such a robust legacy.”
Sanavia mentioned its trifecta of a timeless fashion proposition, high quality product and present sturdy place in France, the U.S. and Japan had been strong belongings and fashioned the perfect springboard for the following section of improvement.
His precedence will likely be additional solidifying the corporate’s place in its present markets, which additionally embrace South Korea and Northern Europe, due to elevated investments in pop-ups and visibility.
The Ahlem spring 2025 marketing campaign.
Courtesy of Ahlem
“The model consciousness is already world, however we nonetheless have necessary luxurious markets that we’re not exploiting such because the Center East, Southeast Asia, Brazil and Mexico,” the CEO mentioned. “[They are] an excellent alternative that I wish to think about to scale up the enterprise.”
Based in 2014 in Los Angeles by Manai-Platt, Ahlem hit the 15-million-euro mark in gross sales for 2022 and presently counts 35 staff, together with a 11-strong crew dealing with the in-house logistics facilities in France and the U.S. Its small-batch collections are manufactured in 4 factories in France.
Along with its 4 flagships — Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Paris — there are over 900 Ahlem retailers around the globe.
The corporate mentioned its prime three markets of the U.S., Japan and France now account for 50 p.c because the model has expanded to additional territories and grown by high-double-digit p.c yearly.
The bespoke service launched in 2024, the place shoppers can have one-of-a-kind frames developed from scratch by Manai-Platt and her design crew, may even be additional expanded.
Already within the pipeline for 2025 are tasks equivalent to a capsule assortment specializing in an modern steel development method and a collaboration with Crimson, the nonprofit group based by Bono and Bobby Shriver to assist the battle in opposition to AIDS.
Launching in February, the Ahlem x (Crimson) limited-edition set features a customized cleansing material created in collaboration with Ghanaian artist Oheneba-Takyi Joshua.
