De Rigo's Vittorio Trusso and Emmaleen Wilson

Having embraced the decision to arrange sales meetings for as many of its key customers as possible, the family-owned, Italian frames company De Rigo was doing a roaring trade at O=Mega19.

The company’s philosophy is quality, which is the only way to compete with the corporates, said De Rigo’s regional managing director, Vittorio Trusso, who’d flown in from his base in Hong Kong for the show.

Attracting attention on De Rigo’s stand was a wealth of new product from its family of brands, including Police, Furla, Nina Ricci, Escada, Seiko and Fila. De Rigo was particularly excited about sharing Police’s new Formula One racing champion Lewis Hamilton’s new range, said Trusso. The Hamilton collaboration follows hard on the heels of Police’s June 2019 sponsorship agreement with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Hamilton’s home team.

Continuing the sporting theme, O=Mega19 also marked the first official Southern Hemisphere unveiling of Fila’s new sun range. The fully polarised collection should be popular in the region, given Fila’s sponsorship of Australian female tennis player Ashleigh Barty, who became the third Australian woman ever to clinch the world number one ranking earlier this year, said Trusso.

Chopard: a truly limited edition

Drawing quite a crowd of willing eyewear models (including yours truly) were Chopard’s limited edition, 24-carat gold leaf Palme d’Or frames.

Recognising the company’s responsibility for crafting one of the most prestigious film awards, the Palme d’Or, the frames mirror the palm leaf design and were inspired by the screen divas of the 1950s. But given they retail for more than $3,200 and there are just eight available to the whole Australasian market – five of which were sold by O=Mega19’s second day - they truly are a limited, limited edition.

New focus, new rep for NZ

Also helping out on the De Rigo stand was new, New Zealand-dedicated De Rigo rep Emmaleen Wilson.

Wilson, a fellow of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians, is well known to the New Zealand market as a former rep, an ADONZ board member and having worked as a DO for many years in New Zealand’s North Island.

“We’re proud to have her on board because she will be our first De Rigo-dedicated rep ever in New Zealand,” said De Rigo ANZ national sales manager Chris Hanley.

“We’ve always been a company which has valued relationships and we wanted a rep in New Zealand so we could have a real presence there and build more relationships on a local level,” said Angelina Chee, De Rigo ANZ’s general manager.

Wilson said she was delighted to be joining the De Rigo family. “My love of frames led me to become a rep. I am now very excited to be bringing my dispensing and glazing knowledge to my new role with De Rigo.”

As well as quality, De Rigo is all about customer service, employing knowledgeable dispensing opticians who can truly advise practice owners about what might be best for customers in their areas, she said.

“I’m really excited because I’ve got six great ranges that I know New Zealand will love. I’ve got something for everyone. The price is great. The quality is awesome. It’s not about sales, because the product will do that, it’s about relationships and services, and I just want to get out and do it and support the practices I know with everything I’ve got.”