Hawkers began in 2013 with an initial outlay of about €300, according to Modaes. Four entrepreneurs from Elche started it by reselling sunglasses made by Knockaround, an American label, before they put a single design of their own into production.
A decade later the resale business books tens of millions of euros a year. Alejandro Betancourt López has chaired it since 2016.
2013 to 2016: From Resale to a Funding Round
Hawkers sold online from the first day. Its marketing money went into social media ads, and almost nothing went into shops. “It was the right time for that kind of marketing and the right time for innovation into commodity type product,” Alejandro Betancourt said in an interview.
TechCrunch reported a $56 million raise for the Spanish startup in October 2016, under a headline promising to take on “the Ray-Bans of the world.” About 90% of sales still went straight to consumers through the company’s own website. Its founders put the company’s worth at around €200 million, Modaes reported, although the official valuation never became public.
O’Hara Financial, his investment vehicle, took part in that round. A month later, Alejandro Betancourt López became president of the brand’s parent company.
2021 to 2024: Alejandro Betancourt López’s Hawkers Takes Shape
Frames started coming off injection machines in Elche in February 2021. Alicante Plaza described the company that year as presided over by Betancourt and run day to day by Chema Fernández as chief executive. Lenses still arrived from Asia.
Ownership shifted again. Betancourt put in another €20 million and took control of the company, Modaes reported in October 2022. That month Hawkers hired Pedro Beneyto, a former finance chief at Alain Afflelou’s Spanish arm, as chief executive to lead its next growth plan. More than 70 stores in Spain, Portugal and Italy carried the brand by then, and buyers in more than 80 countries ordered from it. Nearly half of web revenue came from abroad.
Revenue reached €55 million in 2023. Management expected about €65 million for 2024, Alicante Plaza reported that May. EBITDA turned positive in 2023, Beneyto’s first full year.
Growth plans for 2024 included about 20 new company stores, many of them in Mexico, plus warehouses in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Greece. Alejandro Betancourt López’s group still runs the business from Elche, where the four founders made their first €300 bet.