MILAN — The appeal of independent eyewear continues to grow, boosting awareness and business for a group of brands that are rapidly moving past their niche status.
Among them, Moscot — which turned 110 years old in 2025 — has been capitalizing on its affordable luxury pricing, growing retail network and male consumers’ appetite for legacy eyewear.
Founded in 1915 by Hyman Moscot in New York, the company is looking ahead on the back of an “outstanding 2025,” in the words of Harvey Moscot, a fourth-generation member of the family and current chief executive officer.
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While declining to provide sales figures, he said revenues rose 18 percent year-on-year despite macroeconomic turmoil.
“We’re certainly feeling some headwinds now per se, but we were, I guess, very fortunate last year with [strong] brand awareness. And I think our price point was accessible, and we focus on keeping it that way,” Moscot said in an interview at the brand’s store in Milan with his son and chief design officer Zack Moscot.
Boasting a proprietary manufacturing facility in Asia, the brand felt the pinch of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs in 2025.
“We’re sensitive to the costs [but] we did not raise our pricing during the tariff craziness. Our factory, that we control very carefully, is all about quality, and we try to improve that every single year,” the CEO said.
“We’re in the luxury space, but we’re not, obviously, at the price points of other players,” echoed Zack Moscot. “I also think eyeglasses as an accessory have become highly regarded, accepted and, you know, commonplace now.”
There are now 42 Moscot flagships globally spread across Asia, Europe and the U.S. These include the recently opened units in Florence, Italy, the brand’s second store in Tokyo, located in the Takanawa district, and in Melbourne, the first retail outpost in Australia.
“Europe remains a focus for the brand. People in Europe appreciate Moscot, the legacy of 110 years,” Harvey said. “It’s still urban cities, fashion-forward cities, diverse cities, progressive thinking cities where Moscot is most appreciated.”
In addition to its retail network, Moscot is carried at more than 2,000 stockists globally.
“We’ve had [wholesale requests] in Europe, obviously, because the Europeans get our product, but we are getting more than ever in the U.S., from opticians that are all looking to carry independent brands,” Zack said.
Earlier this year the brand established subsidiaries in Brazil and Dubai, both markets with great potential, according to the two executives.
“We’re really reaching out and telling our story to far-off places in the world, which is exciting for us,” Harvey said. “We’re exploring new markets. For example, South America is a market that was always hard to penetrate because of the logistical obstacles. We set up our own office in São Paulo, and we’ll be able to now distribute at a price point that’s fair and on par with the rest of the world,” he shared. “We’d also love a retail opportunity in the Middle East, in Dubai where our brand is really appreciated, as well.” (The interview was held before the Iran war broke out.)
Moscot is looking at further expanding its footprint globally in 2026, albeit at a slower pace compared to the past two years of exceptional growth.
Lined up for late 2026 and early 2027 are several openings in Germany, in Frankfurt and Hamburg, as well as the brand’s first store in Mexico City to bow next fall. The American eyewear player is also actively searching for the right location to make a push into other regions of the U.S., particularly Texas. Moscot operates six flagships Stateside, including at Coconut Groove in Miami, and in New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles, among others.
“This is going to be a very opportunistic year where we’re going to focus more on what makes our company a great company, rather than keep the large expansion plans that we had the last two to three years,” Harvey said.
“We want to just really focus on those types of things, which include customer service, making the experience in a retail shop feel special, and try to provide that same type of service levels that can deteriorate as you grow,” he noted.
Business volumes are evenly split between prescription frames and sunglasses, the latter including tinted eyewear, a growing trend that sits at the intersection of the two product categories. The gender split tilts toward male customers, who make up about 60 percent of Moscot’s clientele.
“We find men to gravitate more toward independent brands, because they’re less looking for the label, or they’re less worried about it, and more [interested in] heritage and craftsmanship, in products that mean something to them, that they know are made well, they like the story behind them, whereas a lot of times, the feminine market is maybe more fickle, and trend-driven,” Zack said.
As the eyewear industry swiftly moves toward implementing tech capabilities, with smart glasses finally gaining traction, Zack said that they are actively looking at opportunities in that space.
“We leverage the heritage of our brand because it exudes the expertise of what we can offer in the shop and the lenses and everything else. So, yeah, we want to remind people of our authenticity, but we definitely want to be relevant in the future… We’re definitely thinking about how to incorporate technology in a way that does not hinder the brand, the product, the design, the comfort, the optical expertise, because I think some of it was maybe too much, too fast, and can feel overwhelming. And if we do it, it would be in a way that very much embodies the brand DNA and doesn’t let the tech overwhelm,” he said.
It’s also a challenge for an independent company to debut in that space, he argued. “Not even just from a tech point of view, but in terms of funds available, to explore, to test, to try. If it doesn’t work right, we are sourcing out of our own pockets. So that’s a challenge,” he said.
“At the core, we’ve been a family business for five generations, and it’s real, it’s authentic. So I think it’s kind of a unique identifier for the Moscot brand. Many smaller companies, independent brands have been taken over by private equity firms and investors; [our independence] positions us with a great advantage,” Harvey chimed in. “We’re nimbler. We do things for the right reason. We’re not pushed to just sell as many units as we can to everyone. So we’re still thoughtful, selective and mindful of every move we make, whether it’s in the digital domain, the retail domain, the wholesale domain.”
