he past 12 months, the up-and-coming brand has grown sales by 742 per cent and most recently added Bloomingdale’s to its roster of retail partners. Inside Retail: What inspired you to launch Otra? Linda Hammond: My husband, Allen, and I founded Quay Australia and built it over many years before selling it in 2017. I thought maybe I’d take a step back after that, but honestly, I couldn’t stay away. Eyewear is just in my blood. I’d spent so long in this industry, and I still had so much more I wanted to create. With Otra, I wanted to take everything I’d learned from Quay and push it further, into something more elevated, more refined. Quay was incredible for what it was, but Otra feels like the next chapter. It’s where I get to apply decades of design experience and really focus on that premium space where frames feel as good as they look. The name says it all, really. Otra means “another” in Spanish: another beginning, another evolution. It didn’t feel like starting over; it felt like levelling up. IR: How does your experience launching and building Quay impact your current journey building up Otra, especially in the US retail market? LH: Building Quay was an incredible education and, honestly, the US market was where so much of that education happened. By the time we sold in 2017, I had a deep understanding of the American retail landscape, who the right partners are, how they operate and, more crucially, which relationships are worth pursuing. That knowledge has been invaluable with Otra. Rather than spending years knocking on the wrong doors, I came in knowing exactly where this brand belonged. Bloomingdale’s, Revolve, and our boutique network – those weren’t accidents. That’s the result of understanding the market at a level that comes only from having done it before. We now have about 300 boutiques across the US, alongside those anchor retail partners, and that mix is very deliberate. The boutiques give us reach and community at a grassroots level, while Bloomingdale’s and Revolve give us the premium credibility that Otra deserves as a brand. IR: In what ways has the industry changed from when you first launched an eyewear brand? LH: When Allen and I started out, it was a very different world. You built a brand through traditional retail and trade shows. You’d put a product out and wait months to know if it resonated, and quite often, we were very early to market with designs. The biggest shift I’ve seen is that it’s become so much more community-driven. Social media has completely transformed the relationship between a brand and its customer. On Instagram and TikTok, especially, that conversation is happening in real time, and if you’re not authentically part of it, people can tell. What excites me about Otra is that we were built for this era. We’re not a brand that had to adapt to social; we leaned into it from day one. We work with everyone from major names – we’ve had frames worn by Camila Cabello, Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber – right through to our wonderful customers and micro-influencers who genuinely love the product. That mix is really important to us. The authenticity piece is everything now. People don’t just buy a product anymore; they buy into a community, a feeling, a story. That’s what I love most about where the industry has gone. It rewards brands that have something real to say. With Otra, I feel like we do. I get countless emails from our community sharing vacation snaps and everyday wear of Otra, which makes me really happy, and I reply to all emails that come my way. IR: Recently, the brand announced a major milestone: it launched in Bloomingdale’s stores across the US in March. How did this retail partnership come about? LH: Bloomingdale’s has always felt like a natural home for Otra, the customer, the aesthetic, the positioning, it just makes sense. So getting there was very much on our radar from early on. I think what sealed it was the product itself. Once the right people saw Otra – really saw it, held the frames, understood the quality and the design story – it wasn’t a hard sell. Bloomingdale’s has a very discerning eye for what fits their customer, and we fit. We recently launched online and in the top 10 stores across the US, with one style, “Stevie”, selling out within 10 days. By the time we walked into Bloomingdale’s, Otra already had a story worth telling. That credibility matters when you’re talking to a retailer of that calibre. IR: In addition to Bloomingdale’s, what other US retail partners would you hope to add to Otra’s roster? LH: We are currently working on our first order assortment with Nordstrom, which will mark another milestone for Otra. We’re not in a rush to be everywhere; that’s a lesson I learned well from my Quay days. It’s much better to be in the right doors than every door. IR: What other developments can we expect to see from the brand in the coming year? LH: It’s an exciting time for us. The Bloomingdale’s launch is obviously a huge moment, but in many ways, it’s just the beginning of what this year looks like for Otra. What I can tell you is that we have a few collaborations in the works that I’m incredibly excited to launch. Alexandra and Mackenzie Grandquist, the styling duo behind Kylie Jenner’s fashion transformation, felt like such a natural partnership. They have this incredible eye for elevated, intentional style, and that aligns perfectly with what Otra stands for. This will be our second collection with the sisters. Beyond that, our focus right now is consolidating and deepening our presence in the US. We’re in Bloomingdale’s, Revolve, and about 300 boutiques, and I want to make sure we’re doing that really well before we start looking elsewhere. I’ve learned that sustainable growth is about doing justice to the partners and the community you already have, not just chasing the next thing. IR: This month, the brand announced that it has grown 742 per cent, year over year, over the past 12 months. What strategies did the brand implement to reach this level of growth? LH: We made a major strategic push into direct-to-consumer e-commerce across multiple channels, rather than relying solely on paid advertising. The brand significantly expanded its digital ecosystem through TikTok, Pinterest, affiliate marketing, email marketing and organic social, while also investing heavily into rebranding creative assets and ensuring stronger consistency across all customer touchpoints. TikTok played an important role in driving awareness and discovery, while Pinterest supported long-tail traffic and purchase intent. The company also focused on strengthening customer retention through more sophisticated EDM strategies, customer flows and lifecycle marketing. Alongside this, the business refined its e-commerce experience, merchandising and conversion strategy, creating a stronger online shopping journey that supported scalable growth across both new and returning customers. This multi-channel approach not only increased sales performance but also strengthened the brand’s broader digital community ecosystem and customer engagement across platforms. IR: What goals do you hope to achieve with Otra over the course of the next year and over the next five years? LH: Over the next 12 months, our focus is on continuing to build out the Otra World, creating a brand experience that goes beyond just eyewear and connects more deeply with our customers’ lifestyle, personal style and everyday moments. A major priority for us is strengthening our community-first approach and becoming more physically connected with our customers through immersive out-of-home activations, events and experiences that bring the brand to life offline as much as online. Over the next five years, our vision is for Otra to become a global leader and staple in the eyewear space, a brand recognised only for product and design, but also for culture, community and brand identity. We want Otra to feel synonymous with modern eyewear and remain a go-to brand that customers continue to grow with long term. Further reading: Google bets on Gentle Monster: Why smart glasses need style to succeed