Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - July/August 2020

114 JEWELCITY PROFILE WITH SOUL Sunglasses Having started the company with a desire to find a role with purpose, Founder John Pritchard and his team have evolved Pala Sunglasses into a classic eyewear brand with sustainability and ethical practice at its core Tell me a bit about how the label was started. What was the inspiration etc? My initial spark for founding the brand stemmed from a desire to put more purpose in the work that I was doing. Prior to starting up in 2016 I had always worked fairly comfortably within the corporate world, but I felt not giving back in a sustained, holistic way wasn’t enough. Earlier travels had allowed me to visit a number of countries across Africa and I had developed a real affinity for the people I met, as well as the varied cultures and stunning geography that I experienced. I knew I had a starting point, and with the awareness that Africa has 73% more blind and visually impaired people than any other region in the world, I knew I had found an issue I could try in some small way to impact. Once I discovered that a pair of spectacles is cited as one of the most economically efficient tools you can provide someone in terms of empowerment, whether that being given the ability to read, write or perform a work task, it was then a case of retrofitting an eyewear brand to help leverage that cause. It all began from that small seed. How were the initial products developed and what was the response? Coming from an entirely non-eyewear background – and some friends would also say questionable fashion sense – I had to find the right people far better versed in designing sunglasses. It really was a case of speaking to the ‘friends of friends’ and finding those people, and I got there. The initial products were very much based on their input and my overall desire to start with a base of classic styles; so, wayfarer, club-master, cat-eye and aviator styles. We got some decent coverage because of our ethical stance, but at the same time I got an early sense of just how competitive the eyewear market was going to be and competing on AdWords terms was virtually impossible. At that point our social platforms were small in numbers so to get heads above the parapet was tricky. As with any brand, broadening reach takes time. What challenges did you face and how were they overcome when starting the business? I think the challenges are two-fold. With eyewear in particular there is a much higher propensity for ‘try before you buy’ so very early on we needed passionate, well informed and trusting stockists to work with. However, I think there is an argument that some stockists are a little wary of carrying a brand in their first few year – they want the confidence that they will be sticking around in the future and be able to build a strong relationship with both parties working hard to build on each other’s success. You then have to work out how best to place your marketing spend – what little you probably have as a start-up. So many places you could put it, but you’re faced with the dilemma of spreading too thinly or putting your eggs in one basket and not getting the balance right. It’s incredibly hard capturing eyeballs nowadays as consumers are spread across so many platforms it’s almost impossible to know where you’ll