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Bright Eyes Sunglasses was established in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, in 1985.
First started as a stand-alone sunglasses store in Cominos Arcade, Cairns, by Robbie Johnson, it slowly grew in Cairns and Townsville, before being franchised and exploding in popularity throughout the east coast of Australia. In 1997 the franchise was sold to Ian Thomas, a Cairns property developer. It expanded into West Australia and New Zealand, and grew its business through advertising, namely Ian Thomas's marketing in an AUSCAR team he ran at the time. Though successful in construction, running a large retail franchise proved to be beyond his skills. Subsequently, Bright Eyes downsized and reduced the number of stores from approximately 110 to 75. In 2001 following the collapse of Ian Thomas's property development empire, Bright Eyes (near collapse itself) was sold to a consortium of three businessmen, Geoff Harbit, Graham Bradshaw and Ralph Edwards. Each bringing a different skill set to the business helped Bright Eyes revive its flagging economic structure and set it on the path to expansion again, reaching 120 stores throughout Australia and New Zealand. In 2006 Sunglass Hut, a subsidiary of Luxottica, attempted to purchase the Bright Eyes franchise but were blocked by the A.C.C.C. Allowing Sunglass Hut to purchase Bright Eyes would have effectively given it a monopoly in Australia and was deemed anti-competitive by the A.C.C.C. In 2007 Sunglass Icon, a retail subsidiary of Oakley, purchased Bright Eyes for a significant amount. Four months later Luxottica acquired Oakley and the ruling of the A.C.C.C. was subsequently usurped via international laws.