Foster Grant
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq:FGX (until 2010) | |
| Founded | 1919 |
| Founder | Sam Foster |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people |
|
| Products | Eyewear and sunglasses |
| Parent | EssilorLuxotticavia FGX International |
| Website | fostergrant |
Foster Grant,orFosterGrant,is an American brand ofeyewearfounded by Sam Foster in 1919. The Foster Grant brand is asubsidiarycompany ofFGX International,aconsumer goodswholesalerwith headquarters inSmithfield, Rhode Island,which has been owned byEssilor,todayEssilorLuxottica,since 2010.[1]
History
[edit]In 1919 inLeominster, Massachusetts,Sam Foster left his employer, the pioneeringplasticsmanufacturerViscoloid,to form his own plastics company in a formerindustrial laundry.[2]
In the 1850s,celluloidwas invented as a substitute for substances such asivoryandtortoiseshell.One major use for the new substance was in the production of hair combs, and this was Foster's first major product at his new company.[2]
Foster Grant's original production line was ladies' hair accessories; over the company's lifetime, they have also produced other plastic materials, including heart-lung pumps.[3]
In the 1920s, Hollywood actresses (featured on celluloid film) started wearing shorter hairstyles. These became popular, causing a collapse in the market for combs, and threatening Foster Grant. However, the development ofinjection moldingtechnology made it possible to produce mass market celluloid sunglasses. Sales rapidly increased with Hollywood stars being featured in advertising campaigns, and the company became a major player in the sunglasses' industry.[4]
In 1934,[5]Foster Grant purchased the first plasticsinjection moldingmachine to be imported from Europe; however, the machine arrived in non-working condition. Grant and a team of experts worked for several years to make the machine functional and reliable.[2]
Foster Grant's 1960s and 1970s sunglassesad campaign"Who's that behind those Foster Grants?", included celebritiesPeter Sellers,Louis Jourdan,Carroll Baker,Claudia Cardinale,Elke Sommer,Anita Ekberg,Vittorio Gassman,Anthony Quinn,Mia Farrow,Robert Goulet,Julie Christie,Woody Allen,O. J. Simpson,Raquel Welch,Terence Stamp,Clayton Moore,andVanessa Redgrave.[6]
That ad campaign was reintroduced around the year 2000 with modelCindy Crawfordand race car driverJeff Gordon.[citation needed]
Beginning in January 2009,Raquel Welchwas the star of a national television advertising campaign for the Foster Grant Reading Glasses collection. FGX International spent over $12 million on television advertising in 2009. The ads were created by Ferrara & Co. ofPrinceton, New Jersey,and produced by television directorBob Giraldi.
Foster Grant launched television commercials in 2010, once again with actressRaquel Welch.That year also saw FGX International be acquired by the French lens makerEssilorfor $575 million, with FGX delisting from theNasdaqstock exchange that year. Essilor would keep the company's current management, though paid FGX shareholders in cash rather than stock. Essilor would later go onto acquire Ray-Ban makerLuxotticain 2018, changing its name toEssilorLuxotticain the process.[7][8]
In 2018, FGX International acquired Indiana-based One Click Ventures.[9]One Click Ventures is parent company to eyewear brands Readers, Sunglass Warehouse, and felix+iris. In 2019, Foster Grant began selling on Sunglass Warehouse's website.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^FGX International expansion approvedArchived2013-01-26 at theWayback Machine,Gerry Goldstein, Valley Breeze & Observer, 2 January 2013]
- ^abcGross, Daniel A. (2015)."Plastic Town".Distillations Magazine.1(3): 26–33.Retrieved22 March2018.
- ^Foster Grant Collection, Syracuse University
- ^"A Brief History of Plastic's Conquest of the World".
- ^https://library.syracuse.edu/digital/guides/f/foster_grant.htm#d2e99[bare URL]
- ^Foster Grant • History(archived 2003)
- ^Essilor."Essilor Acquires FGX International, Becoming a Major Player in a New Fast-Growing Market".prnewswire.Retrieved2023-08-13.
- ^"Essilor to Buy Ray-Ban Maker Luxottica for About $24 Billion".Bloomberg.2017-01-15.Retrieved2023-08-13.
- ^acquired Indiana-based One Click Ventures
External links
[edit]- Foster Grant Collection—company publications, sales material, photographs, etc. from World War II era and later
- Official website