IZIPIZI, the global eyewear brand, welcomes TowerBrook as a minority shareholder to accelerate its development and international expansion

July 20, 2022

Founded in 2010 by three childhood friends, Xavier Aguera, Charles Brun and Quentin Couturier, and based in Paris, IZIPIZI has grown to become a notable global eyewear brand, offering a large range of fashionable glasses, combining style and quality at attractive prices. In 12 years, the brand has diversified its product range beyond reading glasses, with the addition of sunglasses, screen glasses, children’s glasses and sports glasses. IZIPIZI is now widely recognized as a premium brand, distributing their glasses worldwide for all ages and for every occasion.

IZIPIZI has demonstrated strong growth thanks to its global reach and multichannel distribution strategy, notably through a broad wholesale network of 7,000 points of sale which includes select concept and fashion stores, designer opticians and department stores, but also through the development of its own D2C online and retail distribution notably in Paris, Brussels and London. TowerBrook will look to draw on its resources and deep sector expertise to help IZIPIZI achieve its ambition to anchor the brand as a major eyewear player globally, by accelerating its development and awareness in international markets, including key countries such as the United States where the company intends to install a local HQ.

Xavier Aguera, Charles Brun and Quentin Couturier, co-founders of IZIPIZI, said:

“We are excited to begin this new chapter with the TowerBrook team. They truly share our values, and with their extensive investment track record and global network, they have convinced us they are the right partner to help IZIPIZI accelerate its growth and achieve its ambition of becoming the leading eyewear brand globally. We are also very happy and proud to build a partnership with the first mainstream private equity firm to be certified as a B Corp. We would like to thank gratefully Jean-Pierre Guichard, founder of Manutan, and its family office MouvemenT & Finance, for their trust and all the experience and kindness brought to IZIPIZI since their investment in 2012.”

Karim Saddi, co-CEO of TowerBrook, said:

“We were very impressed by the strength and the sustainability of the IZIPIZI brand and the quality of the people who contributed to building it. It is in TowerBrook’s DNA to support and invest alongside passionate and successful founders such as Charles, Quentin and Xavier and we are looking forward to supporting the business in its next phase of growth, in France and abroad, with the full contribution of our TowerBrook eco-system.”