Silhouette has been manufacturing premium glasses in Linz for almost 60 years. The company’s tradition is still upheld today — but Michael Schmied, who has been leading the company as CMO and board member in the third generation since 2019, certainly has new ideas to help Silhouette achieve its next growth spurt. He just doesn’t want to give up his own independence under any circumstances.
When we ask him how many pairs of glasses he actually owns, Michael Schmied has to think briefly for the first time in the conversation. “Around ten pairs of glasses,” he says after a short pause, before explaining: “I actively wear three optical glasses, two sunglasses and two sports glasses.
My vision hasn’t changed too much.”It’s no surprise that Schmied will be appearing for an interview with Sehbehelf this Tuesday — because Silhouette International Schmied AG, or Silhouette for short, is one of the leading manufacturers of premium glasses worldwide. Schmied leads the family business, which was founded in 1964, as CMO and member of the management team in the third generation.
The Linz-based company generates annual sales of €160 million with its three brands Silhouette, Neubau and Evil Eye, of which the lion’s share of sales, around 85%, comes from the main brand Silhouette. Silhouette sells 1.3 million pairs of glasses per year and the trend is likely to be upwards: Today, the global market for glasses (“eyewear”) already has a volume of US$ 140 billion. According to forecasts, growth is likely to continue until 2030 The market volume could approach US$200 billion.
Schmied also sees it this way: “We are assuming very positive developments in the future as well.” It is unclear exactly what is driving the boom in the eyewear market. One explanation would be the focus on video calls during the coronavirus pandemic — because suddenly there were hardly any options left when it came to accessories that were actually seen. Sales of glasses increased disproportionately in 2020, 2021 and 2022.The fact that the last few years have not only brought with them video calls, but also higher costs and supply chains that have come under pressure has not gone unnoticed by Michael Schmied.
But this is where Silhouette’s advantage comes into play: In contrast to many other manufacturers, the company continues to manufacture exclusively in Central Europe. “Research and development, design, technology and a large part of the production are in Austria, some process steps, such as assembly, then take place in the Czech Republic,” explains Schmied.Around 1,000 of the 1,400 employees work at the two locations, 700 of which are based at the headquarters in Linz. So while other companies are increasingly trying to localize their globally interconnected supply chains, Silhouette has not had to struggle with these issues.
Schmied: “Fortunately, we didn’t have any problems in the supply chain; we have a very high level of vertical integration at our own location. When global supply chains were very volatile and sometimes broke down, we were able to continue seamlessly.”
Nevertheless, Schmied does not remain unaffected by the challenges of the global market — with Silhouette trying to quickly find answers to problems. The increased energy costs are being cushioned somewhat by the increasing expansion of photovoltaic systems at the Linz location, and Silhouette is countering the competition in the premium segment with a clear positioning as a premium manufacturer and an even closer exchange with its own specialist retailers — around 22,000 «partners» sell Silhouette glasses worldwide.Here too, Schmied is already thinking about the future: “I believe that in today’s world it is important to understand and experience a brand in a multidimensional way.
One or two brand flagship stores would be interesting; Stores in Vienna, London and Shanghai, for example, would be good for this to emotionalize the brand.”
Founded in Linz in 1964, Silhouette was keen to do things differently from the start. Right from the start, the founders Anneliese and Arnold Schmied wanted to ensure that bulky visual aids became fashionable accessories. One of the success factors: innovations that took place in-house. In 1983, the company developed the plastic SPX (S stands for silhouette, P for polyamide and the X for a secret additive), which made it possible to produce light and stable glasses. In 1999, the big coup came about: With the “Titan Minimal Art” model, Silhouette created the first screwless and hingeless glasses made of titanium. A year later, the model also traveled into space and has been on numerous missions since then.
Schmied: “We have been to space with our products over 70 times. The ‘Titan Minimal Art’ is one of the very few products that consumers can buy exactly as it was in space.» Silhouette lives this tradition to this day: Alyssa Carson, among others, is the brand ambassador — the 21-year-old She was also a speaker at the Forbes Women’s Summit in 2022 and has set herself the goal of being among the first people to land on Mars.
The fact that it is Carson who is being sponsored and not a “typical” astronaut (who are generally male and middle-aged) also has to do with changing customer groups – because people who wear glasses are becoming increasingly younger. Silhouette has responded to this with its own brand: Neubau Eyewear. Under the motto “Sustainable Avantgarde”, the aim is not only to act younger, but also with a strong focus on sustainability.
But Schmied doesn’t want to throw all the virtues of the “old world” overboard. For example, he is hesitant about selling optical glasses in particular via e-commerce. “I want us to be B2C capable. We don’t necessarily have to sell directly to the end customer, but we have to be able to understand our consumers, communicate with them and inspire them.” Today, Silhouette generates a single-digit percentage of e-commerce sales in its direct business with optical glasses.
Rather, the company wants to remain loyal to its partners, usually optical retailers, in the future. Schmied emphasizes the Buy Local initiative, which he also sees as a possible alternative to large e-commerce players: “This allows us to leave the added value in local specialist retailers and is a great alternative to business models such as Amazon, where everything is centralized. Our buy local initiative has already been rolled out in several markets, and I see great growth potential.”
The fact that Silhouette is “an optical company” is also shown by a decision from 2017: With the Lens Lab, production was expanded at the Linz location to produce eyeglass lenses in addition to frames. However, the situation with sunglasses is different than with optical glasses — here Schmied not only sees more opportunities in e-commerce, but also great potential for expansion. Schmied: “We are very much an optical company, but sunglasses are a growth area for us. Awareness is increasing, market studies also show that optical customers in particular are undersupplied with sunglasses.”
And the Evil Eye brand, which according to Schmied is currently being rolled out, will also play an important role in the future. Here, the Linzers rely on sports glasses that are no longer covered by the classic brands: “We want to approach this in a focused manner and step by step.”It wasn’t always clear that Schmied would end up in the family business. After completing his studies, he gained his first experiences at the medium-sized Hipp GmbH, the world’s leading manufacturer of organic baby food.
In 2017 he returned to the Silhouette Group and in 2019 he took on the role of CMO as part of the board. “For me, the path to the family business was not predetermined – until the actual decision was made. “It has to be right for everyone: for the company, for the family and for yourself. This is the only way it can be a win-win situation,” says Schmied.During the conversation it becomes clear that Schmied, who is running the company in the third generation, wants two things at the same time: to seamlessly continue the virtues of the past — and still put his own stamp on the company.
However, he is not completely alone: his father Arnold and uncle Rupert Schmied continue to hold shares in the company, and Arnold Schmied is also still active on the supervisory board. However, Schmied junior sees this as more of an advantage: “It is also fruitful to avoid certain mistakes that were made through the exchange. But of course I also want to do certain things differently and better.”In addition to sustainable growth, his goals are also to increase profitability and further international expansion.
The entrepreneur has great ambitions, particularly in Asia, where a growing middle class could also mean additional buyers for brands like Silhouette, but the existing markets, including (in order of sales share) the USA, Germany, China, Italy, Spain and Great Britain, should also be expanded be played more heavily. And: Schmied wants to position the three in-house brands side by side and allow them to grow.
Apart from a move away from the focus on light, comfortable and high-quality glasses, there are definitely no plans to sell the company or involve a private equity investor.
Schmied: “That’s not an issue at all. We rely on our qualities as an independent family business. That also has a certain charm on the global market.”
