Italian eyewear giant Safilo Group has announced its acquisition of a minority stake in Potenza-based IT company Spaarkly.
The terms of the deal, announced on 2 February, were not disclosed.
Spaarkly is a digitally native company which focuses on developing innovative ecommerce solutions using augmented reality technologies.
Safilo’s partnership with the company dates back to December 2022 when it debuted Polaroid’s new Instant Try-on experience, which allows users to virtually and instantly try the new Polaroid collection.
The virtual try-on service offers users a “fast, immersive and enjoyable” eyewear shopping experience that connects virtual and physical media touchpoints. The service works by simply scanning a QR code with a smartphone.
Since their collaboration started, Safilo has been using Spaarkly’s ARshades, a comprehensive suite of software and services for virtual eyewear try-on to enhance Polaroid and Carrera’s ecommerce websites.
Safilo Group CEO Angelo Trocchia said: “We are proud to strengthen our partnership with Spaarkly, an innovative start-up specialised in augmented reality and the development of solutions for ecommerce. This partnership aims to leverage Spaarkly’s capabilities, bringing to the market increasingly advanced AR solutions and other disruptive, cutting-edge products.
“In line with our digital transformation strategy we want to keep looking for ‘sparkling’ solutions, which can enhance and support the development of our DTC and BTB channels, offering final consumers and clients alike new shopping experiences and selling opportunities.” ✈
