Irvine’s Billabong USA saved VonZipper when it bought the edgy sunglasses maker seven years ago. Since then, the maker of surf-inspired clothes and accessories has used VonZipper’s cachet with hipsters to help it carve a niche in the sunglasses market.
VonZipper has bridged a gap between surfers and fashionistas with funky sunglasses and goggles.
The company sells its glasses at stores owned by Irvine-based Tilly’s Inc., Huntington Beach-based Jack’s Surfboards, Active Ride Shop of Mira Loma and Costa Mesa’s the Closet Inc., among others.
Trendy boutiques such as Fred Segal of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills’ Jill Roberts also carry VonZipper’s products.
Surfer Andy Irons, snowboarder Hana Beaman, tattoo artist and reality television star Kat Von D and celebutante Paris Hilton are among those who wear VonZipper shades.
VonZipper is one of the few brands to successfully ex-tend its appeal to surfers and snowboarders by attracting fashion savvy shoppers, said Aaron Batts, sales manager at Fred Segal.
“The company’s sunglasses do really well with our customers because they’re stylish and comfortable,” Batts said.
VonZipper’s sunglasses, which sell anywhere from $60 to $180, are reasonably priced compared to their designer counterparts, Batts said.
“People like them because they’re accessible,” he said.
VonZipper competes with a handful of local sunglasses makers including Lake Forest-based Oakely Inc., now a part of Italy’s Luxottica Group SPA, and San Clemente-based Electric Visual Evolution, which is owned by Costa Mesa’s Volcom Inc.
Risky Business
The company has slid past competition by taking risks on sunglass trends such as extra wide frames and aviator lenses, cofounder and marketing director Greg Tomlinson said.
“We’ve always been first to bring styles to market,” he said. “We’ll come out with a design that everyone will think is wacky and a few years later it becomes the next big trend.”
VonZipper is mum about how much it generates in sales and how many sunglasses it sells every year.
The company is but a fraction of Billabong, part of Australia’s Billabong International Ltd. Billabong USA generates some $500 million of its parent company’s $1.2 billion in yearly sales.
VonZipper’s local roots run deep.
During the late 1980s and 1990s, Tomlinson worked as a sales representative for Astrodeck Inc., Gotcha and Arnette Optical Illusions, which was acquired by Luxottica from Bausch & Lomb Inc. in 1999.
He later started wetsuit and clothing maker the Realm Pty Ltd. with Craig Lark and Jeff and Rob Riese in the late 1990s.
Tomlinson, the Rieses and Lark started VonZipper in 2000 with Chris Burke of Arnette and pro surfer Mike Parsons.
Together they started their fledgling sunglasses company and the Realm in a nondescript warehouse in San Clemente.
The VonZipper team used their contacts to help get their sunglasses into stores.
They sponsored athletes at surfing and snowboarding events and made their rounds at trade shows to help get the word out about VonZipper.
The company sent sunglasses to friends in the surfwear industry including Paul Naude, who worked with Tomlinson at Gotcha before heading up Billabong’s U.S. headquarters as president.
“Paul has been a mentor to me,” Tomlinson said. “He was the second person to receive a pair of VonZipper sunglasses after my wife.”
Rapid Growth
VonZipper grew quickly and received buyout overtures, Tomlinson said.
But the company soon encountered a rough patch less than a year into the business with Tomlin-son and Lark embroiled in a lawsuit with each other over the VonZipper and Realm trademarks.
The partners settled their differences with Tomlinson taking over VonZipper and Lark taking control of Realm.
Lark owned a stake in VonZipper and left the company shortly after Billabong bought it in 2001, Tomlinson said.
A few other executives have since left the company, including Burke, he said.
VonZipper marked Billabong’s first acquisition in America.
Billabong, the No. 2 surfwear company in the world after Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc., was looking to expand its business by getting into sunglasses.
Billabong wasn’t determined to make VonZipper into a big company overnight, Naude said. The company’s intention was to “maintain the brand’s integrity” and to “market it on a global basis and have fun with it.”
The VonZipper buyout set the precedent for more deals.
Billabong acquired Element Skateboards later in 2001 and bought Honolua Surf Co. in 2004, watch maker Nixon Inc. in 2005, wetsuit maker Xcel International Inc. in 2006 and skateboard maker Sector 9 Inc. this year.
Billabong has provided the financial backing VonZipper needed to make more products and to sell goods overseas in Australia, Europe, Asia and South America, he said.
“Billabong has helped us grow but they’ve always let us be who we are,” Tomlinson said.
Today, Tomlinson continues to run VonZipper with the Rieses and Parsons.
The company counts about 15 employees at its Irvine headquarters, which it shares with fellow Billabong company Element Skateboards.
With Billabong’s help, the company has introduced more clothes, such as swim trunks and bikinis in VonZipper’s signature bright colors and bold prints, Tomlinson said.
The company unveiled four styles of sunglasses and three styles of goggles at last week’s Action Sports Retailer trade show in San Diego.
“We’re determined to keep our brand out there,” Tomlinson said. “Eyewear isn’t immune to the economy.”
