An Interview with Dionisis T. and Eirini T., Owners of de-sunglasses

The global eyewear market was estimated to be worth around 117 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 and is expected to reach a value of 178 billion U.S. dollars by 2023. The sunglasses market is projected to grow at the rate of 7.7% during the period 2018 to 2023. Tapping this huge market is De-Sunglasses, a Greece based Sunglasses Company. We recently interviewed Dionysis T. and Eirini T., co-owners of De-Sunglasses to know more about their company and their journey as entrepreneurs. 

Thank You for talking with us. Please tell us more about your
company and kindly describe your journey as Entrepreneurs so far.

From our point of view, owning a business is not as easy as people think. It
requires a lot of hard work, vision but above all, dreams. That’s what led us
into founding DE-SUNGLASSES. Our dream is to reach our brand to the top. 

When running a company, not one day is the same. Moreover, it’s not always as glamorous as some might think. As entrepreneurs, we are required to have many different roles, from human resources to sales and from marketing to spokesperson, though we prefer to let our products do the talking for us!

Though DE-SUNGLASSES fulfillment center is located in Greece, we are present everywhere in the world due to our work. Online business gives you the freedom and opportunity to become well-known without having a physical store.

What were the initial challenges that you faced in launching a
sunglass brand?

The biggest struggle for us, as entrepreneurs, was taking that first leap.
That was putting up a website with great content (and not a basic one – the most important thing of all) and ideating about our social media presence.

Most people think that with 500$ they can have a perfect website that will not break at least in one month. This is like a joke. As soon as you set-up a great website and launch your collection, the rest will follow.

When we launched our very first collection everything was going great. From the very first week, we had a lot of customers showing their interest in our products.

In 2017, our products were selling so fast, that we dealt with a huge problem of shortage. Our factory could not produce the quantity we needed for every month and our stock was limited – our clients were searching for our products everywhere and complaining about it. That was one of the biggest challenges we faced, but went through it within 2 months.

Tell us more about your target market?

In the beginning, we were selling in Greece & Cyprus but then, due to the demand of our products our target market got bigger. We now sell our products especially in the European Countries, but we also ship Worldwide.

Tell us more about the type of sunglasses offered under your brand.

On de-sunglasses.com, we have all types of sunglasses. Choosing a frame is nearly as important as the lenses, since it contributes to your sunglasses’ comfort, durability and safety.

Our Metal sunglasses are easy to adjust to your face and less obtrusive to your field of vision. On the other hand, our Acetate collection, feels classier for the ones who prefer the statement sunglasses, but they are less flexible.

What is the unique selling point of your products?

Our products are made one by one by Hands. Our most recent collection includes some ‘safe’ colors and ‘beach’ shades as well! They are made by acetate or metal and Polarized lenses! The perfect combo! .We ship them all over the world and in our opinion, what makes them unique is their great quality and packaging. We do really care about the details and that is so obvious to our customers.

Any suggestions you would like to give to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Our advice is that they should focus on their goals. Big ‘overnight’ success is really the culmination of steady, consistent small efforts over time. That applies to sales, press, and fundraising. Unfortunately, the majority of entrepreneurs folds and quit right before the big pay off hits. If only they would have tried more another month or year, everything would have come together! Start every day at zero, like you are not already successful.