Hawkers now sells in more than 20 countries, runs over 60 physical stores, and pulls in annual revenues north of €100 million. It has moved more than 4.5 million pairs of sunglasses worldwide, a long way from the company that nearly closed.
Rewind less than a decade and the same brand was almost out of cash. Alejandro Betancourt López has spent the years since turning a near-casualty into a durable international name, and the rebuild leaned as much on physical retail as on the digital roots the company started from.
Where Hawkers Stands Now
The scoreboard tells the story: more than 20 countries, over 60 stores, revenues above €100 million, and millions of pairs sold. The brand that once depended on a single ad platform now reaches customers through several channels at once.
Getting there took constant adaptation and a willingness to drop tactics the moment they stopped working. A cash-strapped startup facing closure became a profitable company with a genuine international footprint, built through a series of hard pivots rather than one clever fix. Each pivot added a fresh source of revenue, so the company grew steadier as it grew larger, and the €100 million figure now rests on several channels rather than one fragile line.
A Pandemic Pivot to Blue-Light Glasses
COVID-19 was the next stress test. With lockdowns keeping people indoors, demand for sunglasses fell, so Hawkers built out an eyewear division focused on blue-light-blocking glasses for the many people suddenly working from home.
“The pandemic was a big problem for us, as for many other companies,” Betancourt López said. “We had to adapt because not many people were going outdoors and needing sunglasses. So we focused more on developing the eyewear part of it.” The pivot kept the business moving while its original market was frozen.
Making Its Own Glasses, Cleaning the Ocean
The company also built an in-house manufacturing facility starting in 2021. It ramped production from 30,000 to 90,000 units a month and cut its reliance on Chinese suppliers. Owning more of the process gave it control over both cost and quality.
Sustainability became a selling point too, including sunglasses made from recovered ocean plastic. “We always have been conscious about sustainability, and we know that the market is shifting toward that direction,” he said, and he ties the environmental push to where he thinks buyers are heading.
