SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Blenders Eyewear, a small sunglasses company based out of Pacific Beach that has been taking on the big manufacturers for more than a decade, just had its biggest sales week ever, thanks to a viral story centered on its newest partner, NFL legend and current Colorado University head coach Deion Sanders.
“It has been the wildest weekend in Blenders history, hands down. It was like a rocket to the moon," company founder Chase Fisher told ABC 10News in an interview Monday at its store on Cass Street.
Blenders, which first showed ABC 10News in 2017 how it uses social media to drive sales, was preparing to roll out its new line of Sanders-endorsed sunglasses next month when a tailor-made viral moment presented itself last week.
“Nothing could have prepared us for what happened last Friday with the coaches drama," Fisher said. “That whole thing just fell into our lap beautifully. It just became just one of the most memorable right time, right place moments in the social media space ever.”
Fisher is referring to an unusual war of words between two coaches ahead of last Saturday's contest between Colorado and Colorado State. Rams head coach Jay Norvell criticized Sanders for wearing sunglasses when interacting with people, suggesting it was disrespectful.
Sanders, a master promoter, took advantage of the opportunity. He made multiple national television appearances, each time bringing Blenders glasses to share with the hosts. Fisher said he started seeing a sales spike almost immediately. By Monday, Blenders, which had projected sales of 16,000 pairs, had already seen pre-orders top 65,000.
“We knew it was going to be big, but no one could have predicted this, honestly,” Fisher said. “I think this is something special. There will be Blenders and there will be Prime just like there’s Nike and Jordan. I really think it has that sort of opportunity and potential.”
The Blenders Prime sunglasses will sell for $67.
The first batch of pre-orders will ship in October, although the sudden surge in popularity is requiring several additional manufacturing batches, pushing new orders to have a projected shipping date in December.
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