Blue Point Invests in Europa Eyewear to Support Growth and Development of a New Platform
Thursday, April 6 2023 | 10 h 18 min | News, Press Release
Europa Eyewear announces its partnership with Blue Point Capital Partners, a mid-west investment firm. Blue Point Capital has made a meaningful investment in Europa to fuel its growth and expansion.
Founded by Alan and Cynthia Shapiro in 1977 and led today by the founders’ son Scott Shapiro, Europa is one of the largest independent eyewear companies in the United States. Nearly all of the Company’s frame collections are proprietary trade and consumer brands supported by a fully employed salesforce.
“Blue Point’s industry-focused operating executives, optical experience and differentiated capabilities made partnering with them an easy choice,” said Europa CEO Scott Shapiro. “Blue Point shares our vision for the future, even more importantly, they share our values. This was imperative given Europa’s unique culture and the role this plays in shaping the next chapter of our family’s legacy.”
“Together, Europa and Blue Point are committed to strengthening the tremendous value and service we provide to our customers as well as expanding our product portfolio to address the needs of today’s consumers,” said Europa President Jerry Wolowicz.
This investment is supported by Blue Point’s decades of experience working with family-owned businesses and its deep knowledge of the optical space, underpinned by its transformative investment in Hilco Vision. In addition to Blue Point’s industry experience and value-added capabilities, Jeff Cole and Holly Rush, two highly accomplished industry leaders, will serve as advisors and board members to the Company, while providing guidance to the Europa Management team.
“Europa is an outstanding company — we are proud to support its leadership team, further strengthen its exceptional culture and provide a platform for growth by leveraging Blue Point’s value-added capabilities and future M&A,” said Blue Point Principal Evan Cottington.
Europa Eyewear Canada is a separate company and remains the exclusive Canadian distributor for Europa Eyewear brands including STATE Optical Co. and American Optical.
Click HERE for the full press release.
