With a growing presence across the Philippines and Vietnam, the entrepreneur and her team are ensuring that the brand is never pigeonholed with new business concepts
Philippine-based Sunnies Studios began life in a humble eyewear shop in Glorietta 3, Makati City in 2013. Ten years later, it is expanding the size of its first store and growing its presence as a lifestyle brand.
Helmed by its “it girl” co-founders, Georgina Wilson, Bea Soriano-Dee, Eric Dee Jr, Jess Wilson and Martine Ho, the brand has branched off into beauty with Sunnies Face—known for its lipsticks—and coffee with Sunnies Coffee.
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Speaking to Ho, the creative director of Sunnies Group, the parent company of the various brands, we learn what it is like to build a wildly successful lifestyle brand and the important considerations to take when expanding a business.
Sunnies Studios started out in 2013 selling sunglasses. Why did you and the team focus on that as your first product?
Martine Ho (MH): Locally in the Philippines, we couldn’t find any stylish eyewear without the luxury markup. My co-founders and I were all aligned in our passion for developing and creating quality products that didn’t compromise on style or value.
What made you want to pivot to the direction of optical wear?
MH: We quickly noticed that after launching sunglasses, our customers were replacing their lenses with prescription glasses. As we constantly listen to feedback and grow with our customers, it made sense to us to develop our optical collection of Sunnies.
