At the beginning of autumn, Thélios will open its headquarters in Longarone, in the heart of the Belluno eyewear district, to those who want to visit it: the site is among the 19 Italian protagonists (scattered in seven regions) of the Special Days, fifth edition of the LVMH initiative launched in 2011 by Antoine Arnault to give the general public the opportunity to discover the extraordinary world of crafts and savoir faire of the maison of the French group. In which location and country could it have produced the sunglasses and prescription frames for the dozens of brands in the LVMH portfolio, the largest high-end group in the world? In the Belluno area, it goes without saying. Thélios is the evolution of this choice: for years the LVMH fashion houses have signed licensing agreements with Italian excellences such as Luxottica and Safilo; then, in 2017, the group decided to internalize eyewear, an increasingly important accessory for the image (and sales) of a fashion or luxury brand. Since last February Thélios – ambitious crasis between the names of the Greek divinities Theia, goddess of light and sight, and Helios, god of the sun – has been led by Alessandro Zanardo, a manager with long experience in the sector, starting with Luxottica, where he spent eleven years. He explains that he has taken over the reins of a jewel company, strong in a 2021 of great development and with excellent prospects for this and the next few years. «LVMH does not provide data on individual companies and maison, but I can say that we are growing not double, but triple digit – explains Zanardo -. The reason is primarily the expansion of the portfolio, with entries such as Dior and Fendi, but also the overall trend in the eyewear sector, in the high-end range and in LVMH in particular ». The reference is to the most recent data (see also Il Sole 24 Ore yesterday): after archiving the first six months of 2022 with sales of 36.7 billion and a net profit of 10 million, the group, listed in Paris, should be able to close the year with revenues of over 78 billion, according to UBS estimates. The growth of production and design and planning activities – closely linked with the style offices of the maison and with their respective creative directors – goes hand in hand with hires and acquisitions.
«Our headquarters are spread over 20 thousand square meters, 18 thousand of which are dedicated to production and in Italy we have over 800 employees, 700 in Longarone alone – underlines the CEO of Thélios -. In 2021 there were 300 hires and from January of this year another 250. At the beginning of July we also acquired Metallart, specialized in metal craftsmanship, which is based nearby, in Cima Gogna di Auronzo ». The operation confirms the desire to enhance the know-how of excellence that everyone in the world recognizes in the Belluno eyewear district through strategic investments. But the link with the territory, also understood as Veneto, goes further: on 25 July Thèlios announced a three-year agreement with La Biennale di Venezia as the official eyewear sponsor of the cinema exhibition. «The big screen has contributed significantly to making sunglasses a fashion accessory, also thanks to iconic actresses and actors – concludes Zanardo -. At the next edition of the festival, which will start on August 31, we will be present with the Thélios Suite, which will be set up at the Excelsior hotel. In addition to hosting the showroom where a special selection of the autumn-winter 2022 eyewear collections of the various fashion houses will be presented, we will organize meetings and events ».