Hawkers appoints new CEO to boost global expansion
Roberta HERRERA
Hawkers has reshuffled its senior management team and has appointed Pedro Beneyto as its new CEO. The executive, who has previously worked for the jewellery company Súarez and the eyewear chain Alain Afflelou, will lead the group’s global expansion strategy.
Beneyto joined Hawkers last May, according to the company in a statement. In his new position, the executive will lead the company’s strategic plan for the coming years, which is based on three growth axes: international expansion, the franchise system and the development of the company’s retail network.
“Hawkers is a very powerful brand that, until now, has focused its activity on selling sunglasses. One of our objectives is to expand our eyewear offering to prescription eyeglasses, a sector with which I am very familiar, either through franchises or through our own network of opticians”, said Beneyto.
The company is now investing heavily in the foreign market, which already accounts for 50% of its online sales. Present in more than 80 countries through its website, Hawkers also operates a network of 70 shops in Spain, Portugal and Italy. Although sunglasses have been Hawker’s flagship product since its launch, the company has expanded its offer to include an eyeglasses line, Hawkers Eyewear, which already has 15 opticians between Spain and Portugal.
Founded in 2013 as an online sunglasses startup, Hawkers is currently a group that is made up of brands Hawkers, Northweek, Miss Hamptons, Wolfnoir and Battleboro, as well as Loopas, a contact lens specialist, which it acquired in 2020 in order to expand its range of products.
Last year, the company also made a commitment to “made in Spain” production with the opening of its first factory in the country, located in Elche.
