MIAMI, Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovative Eyewear, Inc. ("Innovative Eyewear" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:LUCY, LUCYW)), the developer and manufacturer of smart eyewear under the Lucyd^®, Lucyd Armor^®, Reebok^®, Nautica^® and Eddie Bauer^® brands, today announced a new distribution partnership with Directed Electronics for Australia and New Zealand.

Model wearing the Lucyd Aero

Under the agreement, Directed will serve as the exclusive distributor of Lucyd and Reebok smart eyewear products across Australia and New Zealand, supporting the development and expansion of the category across the region.

Directed brings more than 20 years of experience developing and bringing consumer electronics products and international brands to market across Australia and New Zealand. The partnership will combine Innovative Eyewear's growing smart eyewear portfolio with Directed's local retail relationships, distribution infrastructure, marketing capabilities, customer support and market-development expertise.

The companies intend to build the category through a staged go-to-market strategy spanning consumer electronics retail, digital channels and other relevant specialist channels as the portfolio develops. Initial launch planning is already underway across Australia and New Zealand, together with product certification, retail execution and local market-readiness activities.

Harrison Gross, CEO and Co-Founder of Innovative Eyewear, commented: "Australia and New Zealand represent exciting markets for the continued international expansion of our smart eyewear portfolio, and we are delighted to partner with Directed.

Directed brings strong local retail relationships, operational capability and a clear understanding of how to build emerging consumer technology categories. We believe their market-development approach is well aligned with our objective of making smart eyewear more accessible to consumers across a broad range of everyday, sporting and professional use cases.

We look forward to working closely with the Directed team to establish Lucyd and Reebok smart eyewear across the region."

Steve Siolis, CEO at Directed Electronics, said:

"We see smart eyewear developing into an important new consumer technology category, and our partnership with Innovative Eyewear gives us an opportunity to build that category properly across Australia and New Zealand.

Lucyd is the combination of practical everyday utility, open-ear audio, AI-enabled functionality, prescription capability and a portfolio that can ultimately address multiple customer and retail segments.

We are already progressing launch planning with retail partners across Australia and New Zealand and look forward to bringing the first ranges to market."

Lucyd Aero™

The Lucyd Aero™ collection represents the next generation of Innovative Eyewear's smart eyewear portfolio, combining open-ear audio and connected functionality within a lightweight eyewear form factor.

Innovative Eyewear currently expects the Aero collection to launch during Q4 2026.

About Innovative Eyewear, Inc.

Innovative Eyewear is a developer and manufacturer of smart eyewear under the Lucyd^®, Lucyd Armor^®, Reebok^®, Nautica^® and Eddie Bauer^® brands.

True to its mission to Upgrade Your Eyewear^®, the Company's Bluetooth-enabled audio eyewear allows users to remain connected to their digital lives through a wearable, open-ear form factor. Its portfolio includes a broad range of frame and lens combinations designed to address optical, sunglass, sporting and safety eyewear applications.

To learn more about Innovative Eyewear and its continuously evolving smart eyewear portfolio, please visit www.lucyd.co.

About Directed Electronics

Directed Electronics has more than 20 years of experience in the development, commercialisation and distribution of products and solutions across the automotive, mobile electronics and consumer electronics sectors in Australia and New Zealand.

Operating across OEM, Telematics and Retail divisions, Directed works with global technology and consumer brands to bring products to market through leading national retailers, specialist chains, independent stores, trade partners and OEM customers.

Directed's Australian head office and primary distribution centre are located at Melbourne Airport, Victoria, with representation across Australia and additional operations and warehousing in New Zealand.

To learn more about Directed, please visit www.directed.com.au.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements relating to distribution arrangements, product launches, retail expansion, market-development activities and future commercial opportunities.

Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and assumptions. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking expressions including, but not limited to, "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "future," "intend," "may," "outlook," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, although the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements are set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K under the caption "Risk Factors."

Investor Relations Contact

Skyline Corporate Communications Group, LLC

Scott Powell, President

1177 Avenue of the Americas, 5th Floor

New York, NY 10036

Office: +1 (646) 893-5835

Email: info@skylineccg.com

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SOURCE Innovative Eyewear, Inc.