How Ray-Ban Brought its Brand Back From the Brink

Getting its sunglasses out of gas stations was a key first step. Nowadays, Ray-Ban sunglasses can be found selling for as much as $300 at high-end stores like Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. The brand recently opened its first ever flagship store, a sleek emporium in the heart of Manhattan’s shopping mecca, SoHo. And if you walk around capitals like London, Paris and Milan, it seems like anyone remotely stylish is sporting the shades. But not that long ago, in 1999, the brand was in shambles, with its once-pioneering wares on sale for $19 at countless gas stations and convenience stores.