ARNETTE is easy on the earth and easy on eyes: Suvashish Banerjee, Luxottica

Sustainable fashion has been gaining popularity globally. However, sustainability is perceived to come at a premium price when compared to high-street fashion. A brand that has brought sustainability and accessibility under one umbrella is Luxottica’s upcoming offering to India - ARNETTE, a Californian street-style eyewear brand launching today in the country. 

According to Suvashish Banerjee, Brand Manager at Luxottica Group, India & South Asia, the brand is fully committed to caring for the environment and is as easy on the earth as it is on the eyes. “Right from the bio-acetate collection to store props to packaging, ARNETTE is committed to a ‘what goes around, comes around’ approach. Our non-conformist and genre-defying styles along with our eco-conscious sensibilities are what make us unique. The brand uses bio-based and recycled material for a greener, sustainable world. Since 2019, ARNETTE has been on a mission to make a difference in earth-conscious style, and with the first drop of its 2021 collection, it’s raising the bar even higher by presenting ARNETTE POSITIVE. From process to product, it gives us honest insight into how the brand is making climate-friendly innovation the coolest trend around,” he says.

The target group the brand is catering to is the young millennials and Gen-Z, i.e. 18 to 25 years.  The brand aims and believes itself to be the voice that resonates with the youth and their ideas. Says Banerjee, “ARNETTE is the voice of youth culture. We are positioning ARNETTE as an inclusive, purposeful brand that brings together the young and diverse population, especially, in a country like ours. We target to bring everyone together who are free to express their own individualities - they are fluid, don't conform to norms, and that is exactly what we do as a brand - a naturally very cool, carefree, inclusive and fully sustainable brand from our core. Our mission is to reduce the environmental impact, and also to support and enable the creative generation. While the world heats up, ARNETTE is as cool as it can be and makes sure that the only high impact about its frames is their look.” It is also interesting to note that acclaimed international stars Justin Bieber and Billie Eilish have on different occasions been spotted wearing ARNETTE eyewear, which is truly an ode to the audience that the brand is trying to target considering their popularity amongst the TG.

Distribution and Marketing Strategy Ahead

The brand is adopting a two-pronged approach for its distribution. Along with its presence on e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and Tata CliQ Luxury, the brand is beefing up its on-ground retail presence. Explains Banerjee, “In India, we currently have about 100 partner retail stores for ARNETTE. We are looking to expand to about 500 stores by the end of the year. As the second part of our two-pronged strategy, we will also expand our presence online to platforms like Ajio, Nykaa Fashion and Myntra. When we reach out through these retail partners and e-commerce platforms, it's also a very good medium for us to communicate with the consumers because that is when they can also look and feel the product as opposed to just advertising.”

On the marketing front, the brand communication for the new launch will be mainly focused on the digital medium. Banerjee elaborates, “The core of our communication will be that we want to be ourselves. Going ahead, there are going to be advertisements on e-commerce platforms. Most of our marketing investments as well as our focus are going to be on digital. We are sketching out some social media strategies with Facebook and Instagram. We also have some strategies going forward with the influencers, and a few key players in the street-style category.”

Globally, the brand has collaborated with international celebrity Post Malone who was the brand’s in-house talent.

Talking about collaborations with Indian celebrities in the future, Banerjee emphasises, “While we are always open to collaborating with Indian creators, we're not thinking about this right now as the brand is at a budding stage. In October this year, we’ll get an international celebrity on board who holds a lot of importance in India. Meanwhile, our India plans include apps, engaging with creative people and creating different kinds of projects. More than a celebrity, we will be looking at street artists and communities of creators who are not just Instagram influencers, but also real-life influencers and they can be musicians, BMX riders, tattoo artists, skaters, photographers, or something closely aligned to street-style.”

Challenges and Roadmap for Future

While fashion is a very competitive industry with too many players, ARNETTE is very confident about its offering and believes to be one of its kind in the eyewear segment. Says Banerjee, “Our approach is that we're talking sustainability with accessibility and I really doubt there is another brand, at least in the eyewear category in this domain, which is being accessible while being sustainable. We are a lone wolf right now. We definitely look forward to more brands coming into sustainability and the environment because it's not just one brand’s job, it's all of ours work to make the earth greener.”

Further commenting on the challenges, Banerjee says, “An area of concern when it comes to India is that a lot of people do not really understand the value of sustainability and what it means. Right from production, in the value chain and to the store, the whole value chain is not really understood. Also, a lot of people have the notion that sustainability or organic things will mean that they're going to be very expensive. It is not the case; our offerings begin at a price point of Rs 3,690. We are fully committed to being a sustainable brand. The key challenge is the lack of awareness, and we really want to have a way forward for the consumers to know better what sustainability really means not just for us but for the earth.”

Finally, expressing how the brand plans to implement learnings for the global market and also from Luxottica’s presence in India, Banerjee shares, “Opticals is an essential category and there has been a steady demand throughout the lockdown. We are observing a lot of pent-up demand in the eyewear sector.  However, the biggest learning has been to understand that post the pandemic, more and more consumers have become mindful of their buying decisions, what they buy and how it affects the overall environment and we think it’s a good time to introduce Arnette to the market and hence we are looking forward to this.”