The AgenC and Mykita
ABOUT MYKITA
MYKITA is a young Berlin-based design team catering to the global demand for stylish, top-quality eyeglasses. The creative core comprises Philipp Haffmans and Harald Gottschling, two of the eyewear world’s most innovative designers. In their capacity as co-founders and creators of a well known German eyewear brand, the duo demonstrated their extraordinary innovatory skills and a precious knack for sophisticated and sensitive styling. Also involved in the global emergence of the hip designer eyewear brand were Daniel Haffmans and Moritz Krueger, whose imaginative branding and distribution strategy ensured a successful basis for marketing the product range.

The four creative minds joined forces in 2004 to create MYKITA. The first fruits of their new venture – a new collection of corrective spectacles – has been on sale since October 2004. Subsequently MYKITA enlarged the collection with other prescription frames and in 2005 introduced their first sunglasses collection, the *Collection No.1 SUN*. As well as refining and enlarging their first stainless steel collection of frames, MYKITA is a company that strives to set up new design standards, incorporating all kinds of materials. 

The AgenC and Gotti Switzerland

Company Portrait When Sven Götti and Urs Niederer crossed paths in 1984 during their optician apprenticeships in Zurich, they both had big dreams of achieving professional independence. Their dreams became reality nine years later. After completing their apprenticeships, spending time together in France, and completion of Sven Götti’s studies at the Master‘s School in Germany, in 1993 they opened the GÖTTI + NIEDERER eyewear store in a building in Lucerne dating back to the Middle Ages. Despite the age of the building, the contemporarily equipped store and the select product assortment soon distinguished it as out of the ordinary and made the corner store a center of attraction with a steady flow of regular customers within months. This motivated Sven Götti to also act upon his own ideas and in 1994 to present his first eyeglass designs, a small buffalo horn collection, under the «götti» label. Sven Götti‘s designs obviously tapped into the zeitgeist; feedback from industry press and customers alike was entirely positive. The great demand smoothed the way for further eyeglass collections by Sven Götti. With this support beneath their wings, three years later the two pioneers simultaneously launched both the «götti» showroom and their first plastic and titanium models. Sven Götti relocated the Sales Central in 1998 to larger facilities in Wädenswil, while the eyewear store and showroom remained in Lucerne. «götti»’s famous eyewear is available today throughout the world and is represented at all major international trade fairs. Sven Götti uses the trade fairs as showcases for his latest models while establishing personal contact to sales representatives from around the world. Turnover has since multiplied and the former two-man operation has grown to a mid-sized company with 28 employees. Sven Götti is in charge of design while Urs Niederer heads the business in Lucerne and Felix Moreno, part of the team since 1999, co-owner since 2006, looks after sales. The other team members manage worldwide trade, take care of administration or work in the shop.The company’s philosophy has remained constant: “I design my eyewear to my own taste and trust they will attract the right customers.” Sven Götti and Urs Niederer chose not to focus upon a specific target group when they began back in 1993. Instead, they stuck to what appealed them, to what they were sure of: their own definition of beauty. And that’s how they have attracted the perfect customer base: fashion-minded individuals who recognize the beautiful in a simple and elegant product. Distribution«götti» are not part of a large sales organization, but supply their eyeglasses directly from Wädenswil to eyewear shops worldwide. Fifteen local sales representatives throughout the world look after the brand‘s image and earnings. This sales concept keeps the reins firmly in the hands of the central organization in the Wädenswil while the company’s philosophy reaches the points of sales directly. These stores are very carefully selected. «götti» eyeglasses are not intended to be mass products available on every street corner, but to be presented in an appropriate and exclusive environment. The eyewear stores that carry «götti» eyeglasses tend to be among the best in the cities in which they are located.Production«götti» eyeglasses are designed in Switzerland by Sven Götti and produced in Germany and Japan. «götti» have two manufacturers in each country. The birthplaceThe cornerstone for the success story of «götti» was laid in 1993 in an ancient 14th century building in Lucerne. The listed building was comprehensively restored to its original state in 1990 and furnished by the renowned Zurich interior designer Nicole Gottschall for the store reopening. In a demonstration of Sven Götti‘s and Urs Niederer‘s unerring sense for high-quality and timeless design, only slight changes have been made the store furnishings since 1993, which feature rounded forms that skillfully establish the connection to eyeglasses and fashion. The workshop is located in the basement and the sales floor is in the former stables, while the «götti» showroom is located in the venerable Rüttimann Hall.