- Etnia Barcelona
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Etnia Barcelona 
Founded 2001 Headquarters Barcelona, Spain, Catalunya Products Eyewear and Sunglasses Employees 195 Website www.etniabarcelona.com Etnia Barcelona (created 2001 in Barcelona, Spain) is an independent brand of eyewear who has created a wide range of colors, collections and designs for everyone who wants to express him- or herself beyond the cannons imposed by momentary and passing fashion and trends. Its collection focuses on color, design, comfort, value and quality by means of the acetate colors and textures which we created in Barcelona by its design department.
The CEO and founder of Etnia Barcelona, David Pellicer (1978), comes from a long tradition in optical manufacturing. He began working at his father's factory at the age of 17, and eventually took over the day to day operations, establishing the brand Etnia in 2001 (in 2006 was awarded the prize for Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Catalonia by Associació Independent de Joves Empresaris de Catalunya, AIJEC). At that time eyewear collections where mostly black or brown and color was not important to manufacturers.
In 2001 Etnia started with just one sales representative in Spain and a single customer service/warehouse clerk. The original color inspired collection was introduced in 2003 and caused immediate sales growth and the brand name was changed to Etnia Barcelona to reflect the city that inspired the collection.
In 2004 Etnia Barcelona established its own distribution in the U.S. and exhibited for the first time at an international trade show The Vision Expo New York. Thanks to contacts made at The Vision Expo New York, Etnia Barcelona opened the Canadian and French markets and later Italy.
In 2005 Etnia Barcelona attended most of the International trade shows NY, Milan, Paris and opened the Australian market with a new down-under distributor.
In 2006 thanks to its success in these Markets the brand opened Germany and eventually rest of Europe. With offices in Barcelona, Miami and Hong Kong the Etnia Barcelona team has now 195 people spread across Europe, USA and Asia (the sales network has extended to Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, Lithuania, Poland, Greece, Andorra, Ireland, England, Israel, South Africa, Canada, United States, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Korea, Japan, Finland, Brazil, and Australia. From 2009 is opening China as a first base in Asia).
In 2011 the company decided to join the chinese manufacture to participate actively in the production process. Due to the strong demant it was invested in new machinery to increase weekly production.
Today Etnia Barcelona headquarters do not look anything like the original company; its office and distribution center are in the building of the original factory and its Customer Service and Accounting departments speak most of the Occidental languages.
External links
- Official Website
- Official Facebook page
- Official Twitter account
- Official Youtube page
- Official Google+ page
- Associació Independent de Joves Empresaris de Catalunya, AIJEC
- Barcelona World Race sponsor
- Government review
- Article at La Vanguardia Newspaper
- Article at La Vanguardia Newspaper
- Festival Sonar Barcelona Official frames review (3andahalfgirls)
- Festival Sonar Barcelona Official frames review (mundodelaoptica.com)
- Festival Sonar Barcelona Official frames 2011 review (Vanity Fair)
- Festival Sonar Barcelona Official frames 2011 review (Go Mag)
- Festival Sonar Barcelona Official frames 2011 review (Mondo Sonoro)
- Festival Sonar Barcelona Official frames 2011 review (la Mono)
Categories:- Eyewear brands
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