Silhouette (eyewear)

Silhouette International Schmied AG is an eyewear company headquartered in Linz, Austria. Since 2017, the company is a full-service provider for both frames and lenses.

Silhouette International Schmied AG
TypePublic Limited Company
IndustryProduction and distribution
Founded1964
FounderAnneliese and Arnold Schmied
Headquarters
Linz, Upper Austria
,
Austria
Key people
Executive Board: Reinhard Mahr
Michael Schmied
Thomas Windischbauer
Productseyewear
Revenue€ 160 million (2022)
Number of employees
1,300
Websitesilhouette-group.com

Since 2008, the company has been a state-awarded training company.[1]

History

The Silhouette Group was founded in 1964 by Anneliese and Arnold Schmied.[2]

In 1991, Silhouette began producing sports eyewear under the licensed brand Adidas.[3]

In the 1990s, importers in Italy, the USA, England, Denmark, Germany and Belgium were converted into subsidiaries of the company.[4]

In 2000, the company expanded to France and Southeast Asia. In addition, founder Arnold Schmied became part of the board of directors, and his sons Klaus and Arnold Schmied and Tassilo Gruber succeeded him as company managers.[5] During the same time, Silhouette International A. Schmied GmbH. & Co. KG and former holding company Schmied Beteiligungs AG merged to form Silhouette International Schmied AG.[6]

In 2002, the company expanded to Hong Kong and in the Asian region.[7]

As of 2007, the company's top management consisted only of brothers Klaus and Arnold Schmied.[8]

In 2008, expansion into Eastern Europe and the Near and Middle East began.[9]

In 2009, Silhouette's licensing agreement with Swarovski, which had existed since 1996, ended.[10]

In 2013, Arnold and Klaus Schmied retired from the operational business to the management board, and their board mandates were taken over by Thomas Windischbauer and Daniel Rogger.[11]

In 2014, a new subsidiary was founded in South America.[12]

In 2016, Silhouette's brand neubau eyewear was founded.[13][14] Since the beginning of 2021, NEUBAU EYEWEAR is an independent company.[15]

Since 2017, the company has been a full-range supplier of both lenses and frames.[16]

Since 1 November 2019, Reinhard Mahr and Arnold Schmied's son Michael Schmied have been managing the family business alongside Thomas Windischbauer.[17] At the end of 2019, the Silhouette Group ended its 25-year licensing agreement with Adidas and launched its own sports eyewear brand, evil eye.[18]

Company Structure

Silhouette is a third-generation family company under the Schmied name.[17] The annual turnover in 2022 was € 160 million. The company employs 1,300 people, including 700 in Linz.[18] Exports account for 95 percent of sales, and the eyewear is available in more than 100 countries.[16]

The company has offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Brazil, China, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, the United States, as well as a regional office in Dubai[19] and a second production site in the Czech Republic.[20]

Products

Silhouette manufactures and distributes rimless eyewear, full rim eyewear and sunglasses as well as lenses.[21] For many years, Silhouette was a licensed manufacturer of sports eyewear for Adidas and Swarowski.[22] Silhouette currently produces eyewear under three brands: Silhouette, NEUBAU EYEWEAR and evil eye.[18]

Since 2000, the company's screwless and hingeless Titan Minimal Art eyewear has been certified for space travel and has been used on more than 70 space missions to date.[22][23]

Materials

Silhouette uses high-tech titanium and patented plastic SPX to manufacture its eyewear.[24] In 1983, Silhouette began producing eyewear from SPX using injection molding technology.[25] Since 2020, NEUBAU EYEWEAR has been using bio-based material in 3D printing technology.[13]

Sustainability

As a Climate Alliance company, the Silhouette Group is a member of Climate Alliance Austria.[26]

References
  1. "Staatliche Auszeichnung gemäß § 30a Berufsausbildungsgesetz - BAG". Bundesministerium für Digitalisierung und Wirtschaftsstandort (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  2. Silhouette International: Presse News vom 7. Juli 2010 (MS Word; 231 kB)
  3. Herta Scheidinger: "Der Millionen-Blick", in: News, No. 36/2014, 4. September 2014 (in German)
  4. Karl Leitner: "Silhouette wächst um 10 Prozent Linzer Brillenerzeuger erhöht nach Restrukturierung den Umsatz auf 1,2 Milliarden Schilling", WirtschaftsBlatt, 21.11.1998 (in German)
  5. Susanna Sailer: "Silhouette Brillen legen um 40 Prozent zu", WirtschaftsBlatt, 16 March 2001, (in German)
  6. "Silhouette-Brillen: 2000 Produktionsrekord - Personal wird gesucht. Silhouette-Gründer regelt Nachfolge im zweiten Anlauf", Oberösterreichische Nachrichten, 04.01.01 (in German)
  7. Karl Leitner: "Silhouette will über asiatischen Markt kräftig weiterwachsen", WirtschaftsBlatt, 30 March 2002 (in German)
  8. "Karrieren", in: Der Standard, 10 February 2007 (in German)
  9. Christoph Pridun: "Markus Wall im Einsatz für Silhouette International", in: WirtschaftsBlatt, 29 July 2008 (in German)
  10. "Swarovski and Silhouette to go their separate ways in 2010 - Optician". www.opticianonline.net. 5 March 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  11. "Neue Chefs bei Linzer Brillenspezialist Silhouette". nachrichten.at (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  12. "Silhouette gründet Tochterfirma in Südamerika". nachrichten.at (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  13. Bräunlein, von Dr Jürgen (29 October 2020). "Neubau Eyewear: Vorreiter in Sachen Nachhaltigkeit". eyebizz (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  14. Lim, Jia (May 2016). "SILHOUETTE: neubau eyewear". www.2020mag.com. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  15. DE, FashionNetwork com. "Neubau Eyewear löst sich vom Mutterkonzern Silhouette International". FashionNetwork.com (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  16. Magdalena Vachova: "Silhouette blickt jetzt durch", in: Kurier (Austria), 9 February 2017 (in German)
  17. "Wechsel im Silhouette-Vorstand". Tips Online. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  18. "Brillenhersteller Silhouette kickt Adidas aus dem Spiel". nachrichten.at (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  19. "Facts & Figures | International". www.silhouette-international.com (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  20. aF-redaktion (17 October 2019). "News - Silhouette International: evil eye - neue Outdoor-Sportbrillenmarke made in Austria". airFreshing.com (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  21. "Silhouette Brillen: Nach 53 Jahren erfüllt sich der Traum des Gründers". nachrichten.at (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  22. Simone Boehringer: "Mit Nasa-tauglichen Brillen zu neuem Ruhm", Süddeutsche Zeitung, 9 September 2002
  23. "Hollywood-Star vertraut auf Qualität aus Linz". Tips Online. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  24. "Gutes Sehvermögen". Kurier (Österreich) 27 May 2020 (in German)
  25. Vera Achleitner: "Die Sonnenbrille der Marke 'Eigen-Design'". Oberösterreichische Nachrichten, 11 April 2013, (in German)
  26. "Silhouette International ist Klimabündnis Betrieb". www.klimabuendnis.at (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
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