News

July 27, 2007 – Smithfield, RI

The 2007 edition of Women’s Wear Daily Top 100 Brands will feature Foster Grant for the first time since 2005. Foster Grant appears at number 85 on the list. The list is based on the results of online research conducted by WWD that tracks consumer awareness of over 800 brands in 12 categories, such as accessories, denim, designers, outerwear, sportswear, swimwear and several others. WWD is widely acknowledged as the industry standard for accessory and apparel products.

Foster Grant has a long, storied history that includes selling its first pair of sunglasses on the Atlantic City boardwalk in 1929. Since then, Foster Grant has built a strong reputation for providing consumers a broad selection of products that deliver style and quality at an affordable price. Beginning in 1965, Foster Grant launched a succession of advertising campaigns using high-profile celebrities to promote its sunglasses, most notably through the “Who’s That Behind Those Foster Grants” campaign, which ranks in the Top 100 ad campaigns of all time.

Foster Grant was on the WWD Top 100 Brands list for several years, dropping off in 2006. In 2007, Foster Grant launched a $7 Million National TV advertising campaign with the theme, “Who could you be? Foster Grant.” This campaign, coupled with an aggressive public relations campaign that further increased brand awareness, helped strengthen the Foster Grant brand, resulting in its return to the WWD Top 100.

FGX International is a leading designer and marketer of non-prescription reading glasses, sunglasses and costume jewelry with a portfolio of established, well-recognized brands including Foster Grant, Magnivision, Anarchy, Angel and Gargoyles. FGXI also has licenses in certain product categories from Ironman, Levi Strauss, Body Glove and C9 by Champion. FGXI has a collection of fashionable, high-quality eyewear and jewelry products. Based in Smithfield, Rhode Island, FGXI has approximately 300 full-time employees. Additional offices are located in New York, Toronto, Stoke-on-Trent, England, Mexico City, Bentonville, AR and Shenzhen, China.

For additional information contact:
Sal Siano
Phone: (401) 719-2160
E-mail: ssiano@fgxi.com