Safilo, the Italian sunglasses manufacturer, is looking for its own financial bailout - preferably in the form of a private equity fund.
Safilo makes pretty much everyone's glasses, from the entire Gucci group to Marc Jacobs to Dior to Juicy to Armani and they've racked up about $753.8 million in debt according to WWD. So until they get their cash influx the Italian government is sponsoring a temporary shutdown of four of their factories.
Sunglasses used to be the easiest way for everyone to buy into a designer brand - the thought being that most anyone can scrounge and save $200 to put a little bit of Gucci on their face if they're that desperate. Which is why when even the smallest labels get bought up by major corporations or gain serious financial backers sunglasses, perfume and accessories become the priority. But, like most luxury goods these days, plastic-frame profits have plummeted and are only expected to get worse.
So the question is, who's so rich that they can pour almost $800 million into a company that makes $300 sunglasses in the middle of an international economic crisis?
