Handicraftsman of eyewear, NAU! was born from the ancient art of Italian eyewear and has grown to be pioneers in the industry. In this interview, RLI spends some time with Fabrizio Brogi, Chairman at NAU!, to better understand the brand and to determine how they have grown as a business to date and what they have their sights set on next.
Back in 2005, having grown frustrated of the tired and old-fashioned ‘traditional’ optical experience, Fabrizio Brogi refuted the idea that glasses should continue to be viewed as a medical necessity or some sort of ailment that people should continue to bear. Instead, he wanted glasses to stand for something different and to amplify the positive message of joy and colour they can bring to people’s
everyday life.
“When we set up NAU!, we didn’t want to just guarantee premium products and services to select customers, we wanted to deliver quality glasses at an affordable price to everyone. Our goal as a company is to change the rules and deliver a fluid omni-channel experience,” explains Fabrizio Brogi, Chairman at NAU!.
Over the last 17 years, the business has built up a store portfolio of 180 stores of which 160 are in Italy and the other 20 are abroad in various locations that include Mexico City and Dubai. In addition, they have 80 franchised stores and of these, 60 are located in Italy and the other 20 are outside of the country through a master franchisor agreement.
Due to ever changing market conditions that have been seen throughout this pandemic period, the company did have to postpone some store openings abroad, however they have continued opening new stores, with more than ten new units launched in both 2020 and 2021.
From the very onset of Covid-19, NAU! decided that protecting their customers and staff by following the strictest possible rules was of paramount importance. They then focused on delivering additional services for their customers, such as improving the online booking system for sight tests and shop visits, along with improving their
omni-channel activities.
When discussing their store portfolio, Brogi explains that recent openings include a unit at a mall in Jeddah and a site on the high street in Florence that was launched in collaboration with two partners. As for future growth, he goes on to say that they are forecasting 20 new stores in Italy and a further ten stores abroad in the next two years. Of the ten international stores, a focus for the brand would be sites in East Europe and they are currently in discussion with some potential partners for these sites.
So how does the company develop new products and initiatives to maintain its position in the market?
“Our recipe has some key ingredients such as inspiration, uniqueness, colour and joy, Italian style and our artisan passion. We launch new collections every 15 days which are designed with fashion trends in mind. Uniqueness is a distinctive element that we offer with our Limited Editions Collections where a clean Italian style is combined with ergonomics and comfort above expectations.”
A sustainable and socially responsible company from inception, NAU! is growing in the social media sector and the business has been built in a way that makes it a stable oasis in the market that grows with regularity, well-being and pride. They do not operate the company to achieve maximum immediate profit; they instead look at the long-term sustainability of the operation, through economic, social and environmental factors.
“For this reason – and many others – every year 10 per cent of our profits are reinvested in society, with high-impact environmental projects or community projects that help people who have not been as lucky as we have,” says Brogi.
In order to improve the environment around them, NAU! has chosen to do something concrete, every day, across four key areas. These are balancing company objectives with environmental ones so that both remain in harmony and they support projects that protect the environment, eliminating any unnecessary production processes; recycling and reusing all available materials and eliminating plastic wherever possible, beginning with their stores and finally, continuing to look for new ways to improve their environmental impact performance.
One of the fallouts of the pandemic is that brands across the world are now developing enhanced digital strategies, and NAU! is no exception to this and feel in the next few months they will be in a position to deliver something special.
As our time with Fabrizio draws to a close, he talks about what lies ahead for the brand and what challenges the future might hold.
“The main focus for us moving forward is to become more of an international omni-channel company and we remain on the lookout for new international partners who have successful experiences in retailing and developing brands. The more we are, the more fun we have,” concludes Brogi.
