SPY is happy to announce that it has adjusted the roles of its leadership team to match the changing consumer and retail landscapes in order to maximize future growth opportunities. Charlie Ninegar, Curtis Ellis and John Gilson, all of whom have played significant roles in helping SPY maintain momentum as it comes off a banner year, will assume new roles tailored to their individual skill sets and SPY’s ambitions. The shifting roles will increase flexibility in all areas at SPY for the benefit of its staunch supporters, retail partners, and those who have yet to discover the brand or advantages of its leading-edge Happy Lens™ technology.
Charlie, who has been with SPY since 2010, has transitioned into the newly created role of Vice President of Revenue – Wholesale. Charlie will now be responsible for SPY’s top line growth and for providing insight from the wholesale perspective regarding planning and programming for each market. Having identified some key growth areas to take advantage of during the next 5 years, Charlie and his team will lead SPY’s data driven solutions for the needs of its retail partners.
In June it was announced that Curtis would be relocating from Salt Lake City to Southern California, as he transitioned from the position of Western Sales Manager into his new role as SPY’s Sales Director, a role in which he has thrived since. As a result of his prowess for discovering new product and brand opportunities, Curtis will now shift into the position of Brand Director.
John officially joined SPY in 2016 in the role of Digital Director, spearheading the complete rebuild of SPY’s website and digital presence. John quickly became embedded as a part of SPY’s family, and his ability to grow direct-to-consumer revenue, which is up 30 percent year-over-year for SPY, has changed the discussion in the industry. John will assume the newly created role of Vice President of Revenue – Digital, where he will own SPY’s public facing digital experience.
“Last year was SPY’s first profitable year in more than a decade and to keep that momentum going, we need to continue to innovate both in terms of product and the way we make decisions. SPY’s leadership team has been adjusted to keep us more dialed than we’ve ever been in recent years and the excitement here is tangible,” commented Seth Hamot, SPY CEO. “SPY is leading the discussion at both digital and physical retail, and their thoughts are affecting more than just the sports industry. The most recent example of this being John and Charlie’s headlining of the eTail East ‘Competing In A Marketplace-Heavy World (And Still Maintaining A Margin)’ panel discussion in Boston this past August.”
In addition to internal team changes, SPY continues to support the athletes and advocates that breathe what the brand stands for. It was announced last week that Zak Hale would be joining Eric Jackson as the latest addition to SPY’s snow program, while the first siblings of surf, Mason and Coco Ho, became a part of the SPY family earlier in the spring.
Stay up to date on SPY happenings at spyoptic.com, instagram.com/spyoptic, twitter.com/spyoptic and facebook.com/spyoptic.
About SPY:
SPY is an unconventional, fun-loving family of athletes and artists committed to creating exceptional optical products. Established in 1994, we are an independent Southern California-based company. We design products—sunglasses, goggles, and prescription frames—that take style cues from the outdoor sports community we’re engrained in, as well as the lifestyle that surrounds it. Our exclusive Happy Lens™ technology is the only lens on the market which harnesses the beneficial aspects of long-wave blue light, while offering protection from short-wave blue light known to damage the eyes. The Happy Lens name comes from independent studies which have shown that long-wave blue light can positively affect a person’s mood and alertness. To learn more about SPY, go to www.spyoptic.com.
