LONDON — How often, in how many countries, is the following phrase uttered over the restaurant table: “I forgot my glasses, can you read me the menu?”
Christoffer Sundberg knows it’s all too often, and it’s just one reason why he founded Glas, a Stockholm-based company that offers reading glasses in chic, sustainably-made frames at affordable prices.
He said the idea came to him in 2018 when he was having a “fika,” or hot drink, with his fashion-conscious mother at a Stockholm hotel.
“As we were reading the menu, she took out her reading glasses — those familiar, bulky, low-quality plastic frames commonly found in pharmacy aisles. They completely clashed with her outfit. It was clear that she was a bit embarrassed by them, but she felt she had no other options,” said Sundberg in an interview.
From that moment on he vowed to make reading glasses for women that were chic, durable and produced using premium, sustainable materials.
Five years later the company is generating more than $4 million in annual sales, and is ready to launch frames for men as it sets out to conquer the international reading glasses market.
The styles make a statement, and are comparable to those available from opticians, specialty stores and eyewear specialists rather than pharmacies, supermarkets or gas stations.
Sundberg believes that chic reading glasses are part of a natural evolution of the market.
“Initially, sunglasses were primarily seen as functional, and were available at pharmacies. Gradually, they became increasingly important as a fashion accessory, and the market exploded in size.”
A similar transformation is on the horizon for the reading glasses market, he believes.
He also believes he has a captive audience. Sundberg argues the majority of the population will get presbyopia, a natural age-related degeneration of the eyes’ ability to focus clearly on close objects, at some point in their lives, usually when they are around 40 years old.
Sustainability was a priority from the get-go, he said.
Sundberg said that Glas drew inspiration from premium optical eyewear and sunglasses brands, which have made a “conscious departure from the petroleum-based resin standard and instead chosen premium acetate,” which requires only a very small amount of plastic during the manufacturing process.
The frames are made from materials including recycled and recyclable cellulose-based acetate. Others are fashioned from stainless steel and titanium, and are also recyclable.
They are finished by hand and there are slight variations, he said, even between two units of the same frame. “Every Glas frame is unique, testament to the over 100 handmade processes that define our production,” he said.
He said the lightweight CR39 lenses offer the optical quality of glass lenses. They have also been treated with scratch-resistant and anti-fog coatings, and are mounted into the frames by hand.
Glas glasses retail for 79 pounds in the U.K. and range in strength from zero to plus-four.
There are also blue light reading glasses which cost 99 pounds and have the same strength range. Sunglasses are priced at 89 pounds and offer 100 percent UVA and UVB protection. They are corrective like the others.
The brand began as direct-to-consumer, and is sold throughout most of Europe. It is also available online in the U.S., which Sundberg said will be an increasingly important market going forward.
Glas has since begun expanding at wholesale. The brand is stocked at Nordiska Kompaniet (NK), Sweden’s top luxury department store, and Grand Hôtel in Stockholm, and has 100 retail partners across Europe.
Its latest partner in the U.K. is The White Company, which is selling five frames.
In London, the glasses are available on loan to diners at a few top restaurants. The plan is to market them through restaurants and hotels, loaning them to diners and guests who perhaps forgot to bring their reading glasses.
The wider ambition, he said, is to have selected retail partners in all markets in which Glas has DTC channels. Glas is also exploring regional distribution deals.
Sundberg said he and his mother designed the first collection of six reading glasses. He said they drew from Scandinavia’s design heritage, favoring a clean and minimalist aesthetic, and a subtle color palette. They eventually added more statement frames.
Currently the frames are designed by the company’s creative director Sarah Bergman, who sticks to classic styles but still keeps an eye on the trends, he said.
Glas plans to launch four collections of glasses and sunglasses next year and will begin offering men’s frames later this year.
“We have been a female-focused brand, but there’s a growing trend among men, who are progressively embracing fashion-conscious choices,” he said.
The company’s turnover is currently 50 million Swedish krona, or $4.5 million, and it has so far raised a similar amount in funding from an investor base that includes a group of Swedish individuals who are entrepreneurs and brand development experts.
Sundberg added that the company is profitable and there are no immediate intentions to pursue additional financing rounds.
The overall aim is international expansion, and to become market leaders within the reading glasses segment, and to ensure that people love their reading glasses so much they don’t forget to carry them, and when they do fish for their reading glasses, they’re able to pluck out a stylish pair.