The story
The company's roots began in 1980 when a fisherman began selling sunglasses on the beaches of Maui, Hawaii. He was known as the original "Maui Jim". Several years later, the company developed polarized sunglasses to protect eyes from glare and ultraviolet rays.
In 1991, Walter Hester, a boat captain, purchased the company and built the brand to what it is today. He named the company Hester Enterprises, Inc.
In 1994, Illinois-based RLI Vision became the mainland distributor for the company, then called Maui Jim Sunglasses.
In 1996, Maui Jim Sunglasses bought RLI Vision from its parent company, Peoria, Illinois-based RLI Corp., and named the new combined entity Maui Jim Inc. The transaction was structured such that RLI Corp became a major shareholder in Maui Jim, and the company moved its headquarters to Peoria. The company kept an office in Maui.
In 2004, the company opened a distribution center in Braunschweig, Germany, a location that eventually became its European headquarters.
In June 2006, the company opened its first prescription lab in Peoria, IL.
In 2011, the company bought Zeal Optics, a Boulder, Colorado-based designer and manufacturer of action-sport polarized goggles and sunglasses.
By 2015, the company had approximately 500 employees. Also in 2015, the company became the title sponsor of college basketball's Maui Invitational Tournament.
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In March 2018, the company started selling optical eyeglasses. In July, the company opened its first prescription lab outside of Peoria, located at its European headquarters in Braunschweig.
In March 2022, it was announced the company had been acquired by Kering Eyewear. RLI sold their remaining shares in Maui Jim in 2022. The acquisition was completed in October 2022.
From Wikipedia’s article on Maui Jim, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5