Hawkers Closes a Round of 50 Million Euros, One of the Biggest of Europe

The round was led by the founders of Tuenti Félix Ruiz and Hugo Arévalo and by O´Hara Financial, among other private and independent investors.

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Hawkers

Oct 03, 2016, 02:04 ET

MADRID, Oct. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- This round has been led by the founders of Tuenti, Félix Ruiz, of Jobandtalent, and Hugo Arévalo, who joins the Hawkers team as Executive Chairman. Moreover, O'Hara Financial, a fund of which Alejandro Betancourt is the major shareholder, together with a group of private and independent investors, have been in charge of the financing.

From left to right: Paco Perez, Co-Founder and General Manager; Pablo Sanchez, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and David Moreno, Co-Founder and Creative Director

The investment, which is the first thing that Hawkers accepts after two and a half years of solitary adventure, will be used to finance the international consolidation in countries such as Italy, Germany, Australia, France, Portugal and the United Kingdom, where it is already sweeping the nation, as well as the entry into new markets and developing new projects that always cause a sensation in line with what distinguishes Hawkers. Its 'Smart Value' Fashion strategy will enable them to become global leaders of the optical industry.

As Álex Moreno, CEO and one of the founders of Hawkers points out: "We continue to set the pace in terms of changing the sunglasses industry not only in Spain, but also in the rest of the world." And he goes on to say that, "To carry on reinventing this industry we are going to use part of this investment to employ the best talent that is out there to be able to continue innovating and contributing to society." Nevertheless, the wager made by the investment groups has prompted the Hawkers team to set even more ambitious objectives for the next few years. Hawkers closed 2014 with revenues of €15 million that increased to €40 million in 2015 and with a projection of €70 million for 2016. Their new goal is to attain a turnover of 150 million euros in 2017 and of 300 million euros in 2018. This figure would mean multiplying this year's turnover by ten.

Hawkers digital strategy has revolutionized social media, what lead them to win the first prize at the Eficacia Awards, has Facebook's recognition as the company with the best performance in EMEA, and being selected by Google for their program for high potential Spanish companies and has been a case study for Twitter for developing the crowdfunding campaign, with the most backers in Spain's history.

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