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Kip Arnette is a second-generation sunglasses maker

A year ago, after the new owners of Arnette Optical Illusions laid off roughly 36 workers, Kip Arnette walked away from the company his father Greg Arnette founded.

Italy-based Luxottica Group, which bought the San Clemente-based sunglasses company from Bausch & Lomb Inc. in early 1999, shifted distribution of Arnette’s sunglasses to New York, displacing the bulk of the company’s local operations.

A few months later, during the Christmas season, Arnette Optical COO Bruce Beach went on a snowboarding trip to Mammoth Lakes with Kip Arnette and two business acquaintances. Beach said he had become frustrated with the company because it was no longer able to control its distribution directly, and some specialty stores that bought the products were complaining about delays.

Beach and Arnette spent the first day snowboarding, then spent three days laying the groundwork for their own sunglasses company.

Laid-Back Digs

Now Arnette, 30, and Beach, 35, are co-presidents of Electric Visual Evolution in San Clemente. They and Mike Carter, former marketing manager at Arnette and now Electric’s marketing director, pooled their savings for an initial investment of roughly $200,000 to start the company in January. The three are also minority owners of Electric Europe, the company’s European distributor.

The company’s San Clemente facilities are simple, but reflect its culture with racks for surfboards and miniature Ducatti motorcycles for its seven employees to cruise around on.

Electric, which launched a line of three sunglasses models in 12 colors in late July, is limiting its U.S. distribution to specialty retailers on both coasts such as Jack’s Surf Shop, Huntington Surf and Sport and Active Ride Shop that cater to the surf, skateboard and snowboard market. The sunglasses are manufactured in Europe and sell in stores for $59.95 to $84.95.

Electric Europe is distributing the sunglasses on that continent and Electric also has an Australian distributor.

Electric will introduce its first snowboarding goggles this winter. They will be made in Asia.

The company launched an unusual branding campaign in March with ads that feature its sponsored surfers, snowboarders and skateboarders, but are devoid of sunglasses. Instead, they feature individual shots of the athletes, such as one hanging out on a lounge chair in front of a motel, without any reference to the company’s products.

“To build brand awareness you don’t have to shove the product down kids’ throats,” Arnette said. “This way, they go into the shops and ask what the product is. It breaks out of the norm.”

“We found there were 15 sunglasses brands in magazines, and there was so much product it’s in your face. We wanted to be more subtle,” Beach added.

The advertising campaign grew out of a series of focus group meetings with the company’s targeted 13- to 18-year-old consumers, Beach said.

Electric also got a free plug during the Olympics when NBC sports reporter Fred Rogin donned an orange T-shirt featuring the company’s lightning-bolt logo during a report from Bondi Beach. Meanwhile, the host of MTV’s “Total Request Live,” Carson Daly, has worn a black logo baseball cap during his show.

The local sunglasses industry is a diverse mix of companies. Foothill Ranch-based Oakley Inc., which designer Greg Arnette left in 1991, is the largest, with $300 million in annual sales. Optical Shop of Aspen, which designs and distributes its own products and operates about a dozen retail stores, does about $35 million in annual sales. Smaller companies include Costa Mesa-based Black Flys; Utopia, Costa Mesa; Style Eyes, Newport Beach; Lush Eyegear, Huntington Beach; and San Clemente-based Von Zipper, whose founders came from Arnette Optical and surfwear maker The Realm.

Industry Kids

Kip Arnette grew up in the industry. He went to the same design school as his dad, and worked with him on design and packaging for 10 years at Arnette Optical.

“I try not to talk about business with my father, I try to give him a rest,” the younger Arnette said. “He is stoked about our company, but he is still under contract with Luxottica.”

Beach held various positions at Arnette Optical, including global director of sales, and spent the final three years at the company as its COO.

“Working at Arnette was cool for the first four years because we were the underdog and a new company so everything we did was different from our competitors, but when Bausch & Lomb bought the company they had Ray Ban so it lost a little of the edge,” Beach said. “But the products were so good and they invested a lot into marketing, so the company actually grew its sales (to its peak of $40 million in 1996).” n

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