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In 2016, Ellison set out to prove that high-quality craftsmanship products can thrive while also giving back to communities. Thanks to your unwavering belief and investing in an innovative eyewear brand, our last crowdfunding campaign became one of the fastest and most successfully funded companies on Republic, raising nearly 4x our initial goal. Your investment supported Ellison to reach the epic milestones below:
We started with three simple beliefs: quality matters, there needs to be a better way we access a product we use in daily life without paying extravagant prices for it, and all of this could be done while giving back.
Since our successful investment round on Republic, we have launched and sold out our new collection of sunglasses and our new BlueTech™ line.
But despite our growth and successes, this is a $140 billion market opportunity by 2020. The eyewear industry is run by a handful of giant corporations, who own the rights and licenses to today’s biggest fashion brands and use outdated distribution channels. Sadly, consumers are still paying higher, unfair prices for lower quality products than they deserve because of a monopolized industry stagnant in changing for the better and the good. The status quo is not easy to change. But we have proven we can sure as hell do it.
1. Strives for the highest quality. Period.
2. Does good and has an integrated social mission.
3. Focuses on customers with a lifetime client service model.
We are heroically setting our ourselves apart from the rest of the pack of established brands by putting quality in the forefront of why we do what we do. And by doing so, we have created a premium brand that can revival established brands in quality and price. Our designs are timeless, and our quality is principled in perfection.
Here's how we build amazing glasses:
Every pair of Ellison sunglasses and BlueTechs™ are handcrafted in a family-owned workshop in Greece.
We’re using only the finest Italian materials, metals and glass. Every pair is made using the highest quality Italian Mazzucchelli 1849 acetate.
Ellison’s quality assurance process is 2x more rigorous than the industry standard, ensuring that every pair is built to timeless perfection before it leaves our artisan's hands, and arrives in yours.
German Engineered 5 Barrel Teflon Hinges
Ellison’s come equipped with 5 barrel stainless steel hinges. This sturdy hinge provides integrity, durability, and comfort while keeping your temples straight. Teflon coated screws help block and secure the thread components thus avoiding loosening of screws and nuts.
Real Rivets
Pins in the frame and temples of our sunglasses provide structural integrity, while adding a touch of flare to our designs.
Ergonomic Nose Bridge
We have created our latest line using the best in ergonomic designs. Our frames ensure supreme lasting comfort after long hours of use.
Temple Tip Detail
We engrave our Trademarked "E" on a galvanized metal cap on the left temple tip of every pair, highlighting our attention to detail and certifying your pair is authentic.
CR-39 Polarized Lenses
Tested more thoroughly against any standard law the optical industry requires, our Ellison's come equipped with the highest quality CR-39 Polarized lenses to deliver the same superior optics found in the top optical brands in the world.
Signature Engraving
A metal-etched trademarked "E" is also used as a subtle lens badge, promising genuine quality of Ellison frames and lenses.
Ellison BlueTech™ Product Highlight
A special BlueTech™ lens coat makes our Ellison BlueTech™ line one of a kind. Our BlueTech™ glasses protect against 99.9% of the most dangerous UV-blue light you will face daily.
Companies must have a bigger purpose. Our mission is to make the best glasses and do good in this world. Through our close relationships with our customers, we are able to empower them to engage in social outreach and community development programs.
Giving back is core to our culture
"It's time we give the power back to the people and build companies that solve the problems they want solved."
-Aristotle Loumis, Ellison Founder
We provide a tangible way for our community to be the change they want to see in the world. We have been on a quest for the last three years, providing eyesight to those in need and building homes that create safe spaces for those who need it.
Every year, our team sponsors multiple impact-travel excursions with local partners dedicated to closing the gap on social issues and those who want to help solve them. We allow our community to truly involve themselves, first hand, in an immersive philanthropic experience alongside like-minded journeyers, while exploring some of the most beautiful corners of earth.
To date, our community has built 40 new homes in Nicaragua for families living in slum conditions. While just this past year, in the face of the Syrian refugee crises, we packed our bags and headed to Greece where we built the first of many Ellison Marketplaces to aid the Syrian refugee crisis.
Giving a gift of sight
Each purchase helps pave the way to helping make eyesight care more accessible.
With every pair of sunglasses and Club Ellison membership sold, Ellison will provide sight to somebody in need in one of three ways:
1) Spectacles for children
The results of giving glasses to the child are miraculous – have access to basic eye care makes the difference in children's education.
2) Building Vision Centers for the poor
Many rural areas don’t have access to basic eye care. Our donations help build eye care centers to provide help to people in need.
3) Training eye health personnel
Along with the shortage of eye care access, the rural clinics that do exist lack trained staff. Our donations help train the personnel to provide basic eye care.
Other brands take advantage of the nature of the game: that sunglasses get lost, broken or stolen all the time. In fact, other brands bet on it to make short-sighted profits. Ellison turns the tides, and converts customers into a loyal community with the creation of the Club Ellison Membership. We focus on the long-term and putting our customers first. When we put the customer first, we break through the clutter to be their go-to point versus other brands.
A Club Ellison membership is insurance for your Ellison frames. It targets 3 unaddressed pain points experienced by tens of millions of customers of high-end frames:
Should something happen to a Club Ellison member's glasses, they have access to our entire collection at exclusive membership pricing. *50% off retail*
Members also become part of a community that acknowledges and rewards living experiences, instead of punishing you for it.
Our story and message is continually being picked up by news outlets, fashion blogs, business blogs and TV and has garnered notable features and PR across top publications and national media outlets for our novel approach to addressing global problems and our dedication to craftsmanship.
"Ellison is not only disrupting the eyewear industry, but it's disrupting the way you raise capital and build companies."
-Scott Kitun, Technori CEO
Celebrity Spotting
Ellison glasses have become integrated into pop culture with the support of celebrities. We’ve had notable features on some of the most recognized faces in the entertainment industry, Mario Lopez, The Fray, Kelly Clarkson, Jennie Garth, Terri Seymour, Pia Toscano, Marc Malkin, Carolina Liar, Novak Djokovic, Kendall Jenner, with music artists like Post Malone, FKi 1st, Lil Wayne and Waka Flocka Flame, just to name a few and are the premier sunglass brand for Fox’s breakout drama Empire for the second season in a row. We have just been signed for other hit shows such as Chicago PD, Chicago MD and Chicago Fire.
The crowded eyewear space is currently focused on an outdated traditional retail model versus cost suppression and customer experience CRM-based model.
Data-Driven
Our deeply embedded CRM has allowed us one-to-one customer feedback from thousands of clients. This gives us real-time design and deployment insights that is typically not available at scale or without the use of a third party.
We can stay informed and responsive to current and quickly changing customer needs and trends thanks to our CRM-based model.
Emotional Connection
Ellison’s marketing takes an aggressive approach in how we communicate with our consumer and how we differentiate from our competitors. This approach will communicate the tangible value of the brand and the deeper emotional connection that current competitor brands are not leaning into.
We've expanded into over 60 brick-and-mortar stores, globally.
2017 has seen explosive growth. In addition to our expansion to over 60 brick-and-mortar stores globally, our biggest news is becoming the exclusive eyewear brand for ALL Marcus Lemonis Fashion Group retail stores.
The adventures don’t stop there.
We have just had our second cross-country trip where we met with our larger corporate clients: Amobee, Google, Coyote Logistics, SalesForce, Raise.com, etc. and had one of our biggest sales month to date, reaching nearly 100K!
Ellison makes profit with a four-point sales strategy.
Wholesale and Pop-Up/Direct are our current main revenue generating channels given their higher upfront conversion rates and the branding opportunities available through additional exposure.
On the brick and mortar front, teams will be hired on to push efforts with monthly goals outlined. This channel’s main purpose is brand development and testing to continue building the Ellison brand and image.
Our 5 to 10 year business plan is centered on new efficiencies within the Ellison consumer purchase funnel. With the Wholesale and Pop-Up processes streamlined, this sales channel is ready for growth and only requires a capital investment in order to advance our scaling efforts.
Ever improving experience
We’re focused on investing in consumer experience across digital and offline sales touch points. This investment will help us become faster and cut overall costs related to product development without lowering the quality.
Data analysis
We have integrated more data and insights into our product development and online conversion strategy which we are seeing steady ROI from. Your investment will be used to make this area of our business even more sophisticated. We will be focusing heavily on Club Ellison, which is continually proving to be a significant growth and profit channel for our brand because there is nothing like this model currently available to consumers.
New market
We have successfully expanded our UVA and UVB protective Ellison BlueTech line as well as Ellison optics. Our success in this area has depleted our inventory in just three months and we need your investment to fill orders in this robust market opportunity: the eyewear market size is projected to reach $184.03 billion by 2024 (source: grandviewresearch)
Geographic expansion
By working with investors who have signature real estate, Ellison has taken advantage of these crucial retail locations to produce instant sales while saving costs on expensive retail overhead and rent expenses. Ellison recently took an investment from Roa Ventures which opened a store in Mykonos, Greece called (SunLust) within the day club Santanna Mykonos -- where we are reporting over 600 pairs sold monthly in just this one location. Our latest expansion has taken place with the help of The Profit’s Marcus Lemonis, who has just welcomed us into his flagship retail chain throughout the USA.
Ellison was started by Aristotle Loumis, who set out to his home country of Greece to build a sunglasses company that creates the highest quality sunglasses in the market, with the best craftsmanship and unmatched materials.
We’ve brought together the people to get us where we need to be. Our team is made up of proven investors who have invested into the vision and market opportunity.
We partnered with a strategic group of proven investors like John Roa – an award winning entrepreneur and innovator in the technology and lifestyle space with his latest venture, AKTA being fully acquired Salesforce Inc. in September 2015.
Ravi Patel, another key investor, is the principle of BuiltByIowa Ventures and president of Hawkeye Hotel Group – one of the fastest growing, privately-owned hotel companies in the country.
Greg Lechner, industry giant in the eyewear space, former Vice President of Luxottica, Essilor, and LensCrafters, will be joining the executive team to build Ellison into a leader in the category.
From the beginning, Ellison has had a passion for superior product and a fixation with service and making the world better place to live. These values endure today.
When you invest in Ellison, you are investing in a company that actively seeks to improve the quality of life for communities around the globe.
We share this opportunity with our investors to get them involved in a social good whether it’s providing eyesight to somebody in need or building homes for the refugee crisis in Greece or across poverty stricken areas in Latin America. We are here to do good, while having fun in the process.
Investment in Ellison is an investment in a growing brand, in dedication to product and service and in the strong ideals that guide our business.
While we are laser focused on growing our business, we are bigger than just outfitting fashion eyewear protection.
We have lost things ourselves and we never forget how it burns. We are turning this insight into a movement and bringing people peace of mind, allowing them to live their life of adventure without worrying about the little things. We want you to be part of it - and invite you to join us for the ride.
"Entrepreneurship is a community sport."
-Aristotle Loumis, Ellison Founder
A SECOND CHANCE TO JOIN
THE NEXT LEADING BRAND
IN EYEWEAR
$8,000,000
The maximum valuation at which your investment converts
into equity shares or cash.
Learn more
20%
If a trigger event for Ellison Eyewear occurs, the discount provision
gives investors equity shares (or equal value in cash) at a reduced price.
Learn more.
$400K
Ellison Eyewear must achieve its minimum goal of $25K before the deadline. The maximum amount the offering can raise is $400K.
Learn more
Crowd SAFE
A SAFE allows an investor to make a cash investment in a company, with rights to receive certain company stock at a later date, in connection with a specific event.
·
Learn more
I think the sunglasses look good. I also think a recurring revenue model makes a lot of sense. I can't stand losing glasses it happens more than I would like to admit.
I believe in their vision and would love to see someone disrupt this silly lux industry.
I’ve been following Ellison for years now and I believe that Aristotle has created something worth getting behind. The company’s mission has been set forth to solve real world problems in a creative and socially responsible manner. Best of luck! Nick
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