Sunglass Hut is an international retailer of sunglasses and sunglass accessories founded in Miami, Florida , United States, in 1971. Sunglass Hut is part of the Italian-based Luxottica Group , the world’s largest eyewear company.
21-824: As of December 31, 2008, the Luxottica Group operated 2,286 stores around the world, most of those as part of the Sunglass Hut brand. Sunglass Hut stores are located in India, the United States, Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, Brazil, continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and the Middle East. The first Sunglass Hut store opened in 1971 when optometrist Sanford L. Ziff set up in
42-444: A public company , with an initial public offering of US$ 70-million, and by 1996, Sunglass Hut possessed a 30 percent share of the sunglass market in the United States. The company also began selling watches under the names Watch Station , Watch World, and as combined Sunglass Hut-Watch Station stores. Sunglass Hut entered eCommerce in 1998 when it added the ability to purchase sunglasses to its US website. In February 2001,
63-591: A direct result of pulling back because of the COVID-19 pandemic . Several additional replacement tenants are in the midst of early on discussions. On October 13, 2021, the AC Hotel Miami Dadeland opened its doors to guests. In collaboration with Simon and Concord Hospitality Enterprises and Marriott, the hotel was constructed with European design and flexibility in mind. In addition to the pool, lounge, fitness center, and artwork featured in their public spaces,
84-428: A former M-19 guerrilla turned drug dealer and his wife María Eugenia Delgado were shot in the head along with four others at their Southwest Dade townhouse. A third expansion, undertaken in early 1983, added Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor to the south-facing front of the complex. A food court had also opened, in the shuttered Pantry Pride (former Food Fair ) supermarket, in late 1983. From 1984 to 1987,
105-567: A freestanding kiosk in Miami's Dadeland Mall . The success of this kiosk prompted Ziff to open other Sunglass Hut locations in Miami , and by 1986, Ziff had opened approximately 100 Sunglass Hut outlets, achieving sales of $ 24 million a year. In 1986 Ziff sold a 75% stake in Sunglass Hut to Connecticut investment firm Kidd, Kamm & Co. for $ 35 million. Ziff retained the company’s existing management team and shifted part ownership to his son, Dean. Following
126-575: A fully enclosed retail wing to the east end. Additionally, the existing courts and concourses were completely enclosed and air-conditioned. Another feature of this expansion was the King of the Mall, an enormous Burger King (whose corporate headquarters were then located across from Dadeland on North Kendall Drive ). This renovation project was completed with the opening of JCPenney , the mall's new east anchor store, in early 1971. A 1979 drug-related shooting spree at
147-628: A massive renovation project, orchestrated by architect Dick Johnson, had the aging animal statues and drop ceiling removed. Considered a new approach at the time, it modernized the entire mall. The iconic seahorse statue was deliberately cut in half during a renovation and placed into storage. It was unable to be reassembled and scrapped. The other modern smooth colored concrete animals and geometric slides were donated to Miami-Dade County and can be seen in Dante Fascell Park in South Miami and at
168-661: A partnership with Macy’s to open stores within their department stores. Sunglass Hut stores have opened in Australia, China, Thailand , Lebanon , India, the United Arab Emirates , Czech Republic , Bahrain and Saudi Arabia . In 2011, they continued to grow within Central and South America, opening up stores in Mexico and Brazil. In 2009, Sunglass Hut introduced in-store photo booths, called Social Sun, that allow customers to take
189-642: A picture of themselves trying on sunglasses in store, as well as email the photos or send them by multimedia message ( MMS ) to a mobile phone. Dadeland Mall Dadeland Mall is a large enclosed shopping mall located in Kendall, Florida , in the Dadeland district. The mall, originally developed by the Joseph Meyerhoff Company of Baltimore, opened October 1, 1962 as a 535,000-square-foot (49,700 m ), open-air complex of 60 stores and services. Today
210-769: Is a transfer station on the Metrorail rapid transit system in the Dadeland district of Kendall, Florida . It is the southern terminus of the Metrorail system and the northern terminus of the South Dade TransitWay (a BRT corridor). It is the southernmost passenger rail station in the Continental United States. This station is located near the intersection of Dadeland Boulevard and Datran Boulevard, adjacent to South Dixie Highway ( US 1 ), three blocks southwest of Kendall Drive and Dadeland Mall , and just east of
231-630: Is managed by the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, who purchased 50% of the center in 1997. Morgan Stanley owns the other 50%. The anchors include Florida's largest Macy's ( Macy's Florida's flagship store), as well as Macy's Home Gallery & Kids (the west end anchor), JCPenney , and Saks Fifth Avenue . Former tenants of the west end anchor space, currently occupied by the Macy's Home Gallery & Kids, were Jordan Marsh (1966–1991) and Burdines Home Store (1993–2005), which
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#1732895063403252-521: The Luxottica Group acquired Sunglass Hut, paying US$ 653 million including debt and taking possession of 1,300 Sunglass Hut stores, 430 Sunglass Hut-Watch Station combination stores, and 228 stores that operated under either the Watch Station or Watch World banner. Under Luxottica's control, Sunglass Hut repositioned its brand identity to emphasize the fashion of the sunglasses it sold. The repositioning began in 2003. The Watch Station International chain
273-469: The Miami-Dade County children's day care center play yard to the east of Jackson Memorial Hospital . In 2004 Lord & Taylor repositioned and shuttered their location entirely. It became Nordstrom that same year. One of the unique trademarks of the shopping complex is the concrete tower with a giant "D" (for Dadeland) at the top. This local landmark was there from the beginning. Today, Dadeland
294-548: The hotel offers flexibility with available meeting rooms and a 3,610 sq. ft. venue space. Dadeland Mall is located between South Dixie Highway ( US-1 ) and the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) at its southern terminus where it meets US-1 . It is also served by the Dadeland North Metrorail station, which has a pedestrian walkway connecting to the mall. Dadeland South station Dadeland South station
315-446: The mall began the Miami drug war . In broad daylight, two gunmen exited a paneled truck, entered a liquor store and gunned down two men, wounding the store clerk. The dead men were eventually identified as a Colombia -based cocaine trafficker and his bodyguard. On December 3, 1981, a 13 month old boy was found alive behind the mall, after having gone missing four days earlier, around three miles away. His parents, Alfonso Jesus Arrubla,
336-480: The mall is about triple that size, with about 1,500,000 square feet (140,000 m ) of retail space. The mall features JCPenney , Macy's , Macy's Home Gallery and Kids , and Saks Fifth Avenue . The Dadeland North station is adjacent to the mall, and the Dadeland South station is located just south of the mall. Originally an open-air center, the mall was anchored by Burdine's (spelled with an apostrophe at
357-543: The mall was featured in the 1990 Alec Baldwin film Miami Blues . The mall has been remodeled since both of those films however. In the late 1990s, talks were underway about adding a second floor to the entire mall. This project would have doubled the mall's space plus add second-floor access to the anchor stores all of which already have second floors. This project was rejected. On May 7, 2020, Nordstrom, which also maintains several additional outposts nearby, announced plans to shutter along with several additional locations as
378-539: The partial acquisition, the business was incorporated under the name Sunglass Hut International, Inc. Ziff retired from Sunglass Hut in 1989. He and his family retained a 25 percent stake in the business, but were no longer involved in its day-to-day operation. They retained the stake until 1991, when the company's annual sales surpassed $ 100 million, and the Ziff family sold the portion of Sunglass Hut that remained in their control. In 1993, Sunglass Hut International, Inc. became
399-519: The time), and also boasted a Food Fair grocery, full-service Gray Drug and the Summit Restaurant, Lounge and Cafeteria (later known as The Forum ). A Jordan Marsh anchor store was added to the west end, which opened in November 1966. A major construction project, started in late 1969, doubled the size of the mall by creating a twin structure (leaving the large Burdine's in the center) and adding
420-468: Was eventually to be taken over by Mervyns with Dillard's as another bidder, but these stores didn't take over the space. Former tenants of the southeast end anchor space were Lord & Taylor (1983–2004) and Nordstrom (2004–2020). Dadeland Mall's largest restaurant is The Cheesecake Factory . The outer part of the mall, particularly the original main entrance, was featured in the 1985 Chuck Norris film Invasion U.S.A. The inside and outside of
441-852: Was sold to Fossil Inc. in December 2007. Sunglass Hut operates 2,000 retail outlets in 20 countries: 1,562 in North America, 157 in Australia, 44 in New Zealand, 15 in Asia, 123 in South Africa, 81 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, 33 in the Middle East, and 35 in India. As of 2015, it is the most common store in American shopping malls. Sunglass Hut store types include normal retail stores and shopping centre kiosks, retailers in airports, hotels and outlet centres, and premium "global" stores. Sunglass Hut has entered into
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