Macron’s ‘Top Gun’ look gives glasses maker’s stock US$4 million bump

[PARIS] Emmanuel Macron’s aviator sunglasses drove the shares of their maker, iVision Tech, almost 28 per cent higher on Thursday (Jan 22) after the French president’s look during his speech at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos went viral online.

The group, which owns French high-end eyewear brand Henry Jullien, said on Wednesday that the model worn by Macron was its Pacific S 01, with a price tag of 659 euros (S$990.54) on its website.

This “certainly created a wow effect on the stock”, iVision Tech CEO Stefano Fulchir told Reuters.

The share rally has added around 3.5 million euros to the Italian company’s market capitalisation. Memes, comments and speculation over Macron’s appearance surged on social media, with ubiquitous references to the 1986 movie Top Gun starring Tom Cruise. Even US President Donald Trump weighed in.

Macron’s office said the choice to wear sunglasses during his speech, which took place indoors, was to protect his eyes because of a burst blood vessel. It did not confirm the brand of the glasses.

Yet, Fulchir said he could clearly recognise the Henry Jullien glasses, which he said he had sent to Macron in 2024.

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The Milan-listed shares rose nearly 6 per cent on Wednesday, before being automatically halted from trading for most of the day. They briefly resumed trading around 1115 GMT on Thursday before being halted again, and were on track for their highest one-day jump on record. REUTERS