Silhouette’s Zeitgeist

“Eyewear should be more than a simple visual aid; it should be a stylish accessory with a unique design that combines both lightness and comfort”. This vision born over fifty years ago, in 1964 to be exact, led to the birth of Silhouette International. With about 1,600 employees all over the world and exports that account for 95% of its turnover, the Austrian company is still totally owned by the founding family, Schmied. Currently at the helm are CEO Jan Rosenberg and COO/CFO Thomas Windischbauer. WMIDO met Rosenberg.Could you present your organisation to our readers in terms of distribution, corporate organization and economical data?Silhouette International has been founded in 1964 by Arnold and Anneliese Schmied. The company is still 100 % family owned and is led by me, Jan Rosenberg as CEO and Thomas Windischbauer as CFO/COO.Our two brands, Silhouette and Neubau eyewear, as well as our license brand Adidas Sport eyewear are produced at our companies HQ in Linz, Austria. With an export quota of 95 % our products are available in more than 100 countries worldwide, distributed by 13 subsidiaries and 91 distributors.Which are your main markets?We have a global presence. Our biggest market is the USA, followed by Europe. Asia is growing.In 2014 we have founded our subsidiary in Brazil.You are used to create collaborations with designers in the design and eyewear field: are you going on in this way this year too?We are collaborating with young and outstanding fashion designers such as Felder Felder, Wes Gordon and Arthur Arbesser to create Special Edition sunglasses with their very personal design signature. We are on the runways in London, New York and Milan. At the moment we are working together with a new talent, so stay tuned!In 2016 you presented the new brand Neubau: could you tell us more about it?neubau eyewear is a young urban & sustainable lifestyle brand, addressing the global millennial generation. The brand name reflects its inspiration by the Viennese creative 7th district, the so-called Neubau district. The brand does reflect the zeitgeist and lifestyle. It offers trendy optical and sun frames for both genders, all of them made in our production plant in Austria.What about your presence at Mido 2017? What are you going to present in this occasion?A true sensation. This year at MIDO there is something big to come from Silhouette. Visit us at hall and see for yourself. You will be stoked!