Stephen Wright.

PADUA, Italy and SECAUCUS, N.J.—Safilo has announced the appointment of Stephen Wright as new chief commercial officer of Safilo North America, effective June 19. Henri Blomqvist, who has led the development of North America in the last two years, leaves the company to pursue other interests, the company stated. Wright has had a career of longstanding experience in the eyewear industry. He has held a number of positions with increasing responsibility within VSP Global, such as president of Altair Eyewear and senior vice president of the Americas for Marchon Eyewear. More recently, he served as the president of VSP Global Omni-Channel Solutions.

“We are very happy to welcome Stephen and to count on his expertise and deep knowledge of the U.S. market, its relevant stakeholders and the different dynamics. The U.S. is an historical market for Safilo and we were intent on selecting a leader with a deep knowledge of the specific market needs, able to work hand in hand with all of our different customers,” said Angelo Trocchia, CEO of Safilo Group. “We want to be closer and closer to the market, to better understand what is truly relevant for our local consumers, capitalizing more on our strong brand portfolio and on our independent business approach.”

Within its global brand portfolio, Safilo has just launched the rag & bone collection of eyewear and the company is preparing for the launch of the Rebecca Minkoff new sunglasses collection in October at Rebecca Minkoff retail stores followed by the launch of the ophthalmic and sunwear collection in January 2019.