Revo Sees Golf’s Growth Optics As Clear And Pro Shops As Key Hubs

Whether a golfer uses AimPoint, the Plumb Bob method, or simply visualizes the ball rolling in the cup before pulling back their putter to stroke it hole-ward bound, the right shades can boost pre-shot confidence. Sport-specific sunglasses can help assess the slope and read breaks on greens in a precision game where a mere millimeter can mean the difference between a birdie and a lip out.

“When you’re outside playing eighteen holes, everybody knows to wear sunscreen but not everybody knows to wear sunglasses,” said Cliff Robinson, the CEO of Revo on a vertical he sees as key growth driver.

“Most golfers have not historically worn sunglasses. My feeling, and I’m little biased as I’m in the sunwear industry, is we can actually improve your performance and improve your game if you are wearing a great pair of sunglasses. You can read the greens better, see the ball more clearly and not squint while you are walking around the course,” he added.

Revo’s golf lenses are designed to enhance the visual experience of a golf course, with spectral curves engineered to pop colors found on a course, improving contrast between the browns and greens and the white of the ball.

Partnering with pro shops and golf courses to spread that message has proven a recipe for success for Revo and golf is now one of their fastest growing market segments.

“What I like about golf is really two-fold: the golf course and pro shop today is like the specialty store of yesterday. Our fans, our demographic, are shopping at a pro shop more than they’re shopping at a department store. That’s really important to us to speak to our consumer where they are, but what I also love is it’s almost non-traditional retail,” he explains, adding that they do a lot of event business, demo days and gifting for tournaments taking place at clubs.

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“It’s a really great way to engage and talk with our fans and see them try on product and see how it works for them when they’re at a course as opposed to 24-frames sitting on a frame board in a sea of sunglasses. So, golf is interesting because it gets us closer to the consumer and its more of an experiential conversation than a retail purchase.

Three years ago, Revo was in 100-150 pro shops. Today, that tally has grown to over 500, including partnerships with tournament gifting sites. Revo’s sunglasses are carried primarily by private clubs, with top-tier names like Winged Foot, Atlantic, Whistling Straits, Shinnecock Hills, and Pebble Beach among the prestigious venues offering their products.

Though Robinson isn’t a golfer, his outsized country club friend count has led him to spend plenty of leisure time fairway adjacent, where he’s noticed a growing trend: people doing their Saturday shopping right at the club.

POLARIZED MARKET

Polarized versus tinted lenses can be as sensitive and divisive a topic as political party affiliation and Revo is a 100% polarized sunglasses line.

“Naturally I’m going to tell you that polarized is better,” Robinson said. “There are people who will not wear polarized because they have been taught to believe it affects your depth perception but we’ve been making them for years, we sell thousands and thousands of polarized sunglasses for people playing golf and the majority of people who wear them say it enhances their view in their experience, not takes away from,” he added.

The industry however is divided on this point. Uswing founder and CEO Warren Fong, whose shades are worn by tour players Rose Zhang and C.T. Pan, among others, sees things differently, and is firmly in the non-polarized camp.

“Polarization can distort vision and impact depth perception. It may also change the way you track the ball and could cause eye strain when you're tilting your head back and forth," Fong explained.

Last month, Annika Sorenstam held court at Revo’s flagship store in SoHo in New York City, to launch of the newest style in the Revo x Annika sunglass collection. The women’s golf GOAT, who accrued 72 LPGA Tour wins and tops the all-time money list with tournament earnings over $22.5 million, has been a brand ambassador for Revo since 2022.

“Even though, from a product standpoint, we’ve always had the credibility, she gives us even more credibility by putting her stamp of approval on it. I always say, ‘if it’s good enough for Annika Sorenstam, it’s good enough for your when you’re hacking and playing eighteen on a Saturday afternoon at your club,” Robinson said

Only a month in, it’s hard to tell if the Annika 3 will be the bestselling frame since their collaboration began, but Robinson does feel this release is having a larger impact out of the gate.

According to a recent industry report, the global sunglasses market, valued at nearly $17.21 billion in 2023, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.5% and reach $22.49 billion in 2028. Robinson believes that the golf-specific eyewear market will grow at a slightly faster clip than the general market, primarily because the activity-based sunglasses have significantly less penetration outside of the U.S. and the domestic market itself is not yet fully matured.