Let’s be honest, most people wear sunglasses to look good. They’re an accessory first, eye protection second. And that’s fine until the light gets harsh, glare starts bouncing off water or roads, or the weather decides to make things difficult. When visibility actually matters, style alone doesn’t cut it.
For people who take their outdoor sport or activity seriously, sunglasses aren’t just something you throw on before leaving the house. They’re gear. And good gear is expected to perform at least as hard as you do.
That’s exactly the space Matthews Eyecare saw an opportunity in.
Seeing Better Should Look Better Too
Matthews Eyecare had already built a strong reputation in eyecare through prescription glasses, but they wanted to take things further. They saw a gap between performance and style in the world of sports eyewear and decided to do something about it. The result was a new division of the brand, focused entirely on high-end sunglasses, sports sunglasses, goggles, and helmets also available with prescription lenses.
The idea was simple: whether you’re training for a marathon, heading out for a casual jog, or standing on a mountain ridge staring down Aoraki, you should be able to see clearly and look good doing it. Performance shouldn’t mean compromising on style. Form meets function.
From Storefront to Online
After opening their dedicated retail store in Nelson, Matthews Sports Vision, the next logical step was to take the range online. With a tight budget but big ambitions, Matthews turned to Hi Ho for a scalable ecommerce solution that could grow alongside the brand.
Ecommerce wasn’t just an option—it was essential.
Hi Ho stepped in and built a WordPress/WooCommerce website designed to showcase the full Matthews Sports Vision range. This included premium brands like Julbo, Serengeti, Smith, OUT OF, Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Adidas. But more importantly, the site needed to do more than just sell products. It needed to educate customers that many of these sunglasses and goggles could be fitted with prescription lenses.
That meant clearly explaining options like full prescription lenses, mono shields, optical clips, and prescription solutions for sunglasses and snow and swim goggles without overwhelming people who just wanted to find the right pair of sunglasses.
Design That Lets the Product Speak
The design approach was clean and considered. The goal wasn’t to shout over the products, but to give them space to shine. After all, a beautifully designed pair of sunglasses should be the hero.
To make the experience easier for customers who need prescription lenses, every compatible product was clearly marked with an “M PRESCRIPTION” tag. No guessing. No digging through specs. Just a simple visual cue that said: yes, you can get these in your prescription.
It’s a small detail, but it makes a big difference when you’re trying to bridge the gap between performance eyewear and everyday usability.
Getting Seen in a Noisy World
Of course, building the website was only the first step. To get the new platform moving, Matthews also partnered with Hi Ho on SEO, AI search, and social campaigns across Meta.
The goal wasn’t just traffic. It was visibility in the right places, at the right moments, when people are actively searching for better vision, better performance, and better sunglasses. By combining ecommerce, search, and social, Matthews Sports Vision could start building a digital presence that matched the quality of the products they stock.
A Platform Built to Grow
What started as a new division of an established eyecare brand quickly became something more: a specialised destination for performance sunglasses, sports eyewear, and prescription-ready solutions. With a scalable ecommerce platform in place and a marketing engine behind it, Matthews Sports Vision is now set up to grow, adapt, and keep doing what it set out to do in the first place.
Helping people see better, perform better, and look good doing it.