Hawkers: From €300 to €40M, The Fine Print of Elche’s Success

Hawkers: €40 Million and the €300 Myth

Four young people from Elche, an initial investment of €300, and €40 million in revenue in 2015. The official narrative of Hawkers—the startup selling sunglasses in 65 countries, sponsoring the Lakers, and turning its founders into case studies for Facebook and Twitter—has all the ingredients of the entrepreneur's manual. But scratch the surface, and the story cracks, according to several participants in the debate. The question is not whether the business works—it does, very well—but whether the accompanying history is truth or well-packaged marketing.

The Real Business: Margins, Expired Patents, and a Chinese Intermediary

Hawkers manufactures nothing. It buys glasses in China—where creative director David Moreno admits to paying inflated commissions to an intermediary posing as the factory owner—and resells them in Europe at prices between €20 and €40. According to the version circulating in the thread, the model rests on a masterstroke: old Ray-Ban designs had lost their patents. Anyone could copy them. The company from Elche did so, contacted US-based Knockaround to distribute products in Spain, and after skyrocketing sales, broke the alliance. The trigger, according to the circulating version, was the Lakers sponsorship: Knockaround interpreted it as an invasion of its own territory.

The result is a product that, in the words of several buyers, is "exactly the same" as branded glasses at one-tenth the price. Quality is what it is, according to critical users: plastic frames, lenses that scratch easily, and polarization that fails at the first touch, they claim. But the target customer isn't looking for durability. They want fashion, price, and the endorsement of seeing Luis Suárez or Paula Echevarría wearing them.

The Backstory of the €300: Contacts, Guarantees, and an Apartment in Elche

This is where the narrative starts to leak, according to several forum users. The official version says the four founders started with €300 and no external funding. The version circulating in business circles, which several participants accept as true, is different: someone with family name and assets put up the money. "Everyone in Elche knows this," it is stated without ambiguity. It is not a formal accusation, but rather, according to those who support it, the realization that setting up a limited liability company costs more than €3,000, traveling to China to close an order requires liquidity, and getting in contact with Jorge Lorenzo—who later sued the company, according to one participant—is not achieved with a cold call.

Moreno himself admits that the firm "never makes a large initial investment in anything" and that its strategy is "trial-and-error." It sounds like humility. It also sounds like error cannot cost you the business. And for that, you need a cushion that doesn't come together with €300, critics argue.

Marketing as Product: Tweets, Giveaways, and a Ford Car

Hawkers doesn't sell glasses. It sells the story of Hawkers. The company invests up to €50,000 daily in advertising, leads trending topics in Spain, and was the first to give away a car on Twitter in partnership with Ford. It collaborates with PlayStation, Samsung, Mercedes-Benz, and Guitar Hero. Each special edition is a coup. Each giveaway, a headline. The product is secondary; what is sold is the brand.

And it works. Revenue went from zero to €40 million in two years, and the forecast for 2016 was €70 million. The agreement with Inditex to sell in Pull&Bear peine 65 countries. The company has about a hundred employees with an average age of 27 and just bought 70% of rival Northweek. Growth is fruta.

The Fine Print: Quality, Patents, and Resale Business

The debate over quality is the most recurring. Some compare Hawkers to cheap knockoffs, while others argue current Ray-Bans are also made in China and don't cost €200. The reality is that Hawkers' margin comes not from innovation, but from eliminating intermediaries and buying cheap to sell at accessible brand prices, according to the model described. It is the same model as many other fast-fashion companies, applied to an accessory that until recently was sold with a markup.

The expired Ray-Ban patent was the entry point, according to the circulating version. Knockaround distribution was the springboard. The Lakers sponsorship was the signal that they no longer needed anyone. And Jorge Lorenzo's lawsuit was the reminder that contracts with celebrities don't always end well, according to one participant.

The Entrepreneur Narrative: Why Truth Matters

The €300 story is not innocent. It sells the idea that anyone can build an empire with an idea and a Twitter account. And when this becomes public policy—entrepreneurship grants, unemployment capitalization, self-employment courses—it has consequences, according to critics. If success depends on contacts and a family cushion, the message should be different. It is not the same to say "work hard" as to say "work hard, get lucky, and have your father guarantee the loan."

Hawkers will bill what it has to bill. But the €300 story no longer flies, in the judgment of several participants. And those who believed it now look at €20 glasses with a different perspective.

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With these elements, the question is not whether Hawkers is a windfall—it is—but how many of those who try to imitate it will have the same cushion underneath. Unfortunately, the answer is not found in sponsored content.