Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López Says Being Eco-Friendly Is His Business Ethos
Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López, the founder of Auro Travel and president of Hawkers Sunglasses, has worked to lead his companies through a wide range of challenges and obstacles. He’s built them from the ground up, developing ideas and striving to create products and services that meet the needs of consumers. Yet throughout that time, he’s also incorporated as many eco-friendly initiatives as possible, keenly aware of how his company and efforts can impact the world. His strategy’s obviously working — his net worth is around $2.6 billion.
While Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López has long supported having as little impact on the environment as possible, it’s clear that doing so is no longer an option but a requirement of doing business.
Today’s consumer is knowledgeable and has outstanding insight into how companies tick. As a result, businesses must find ways to meet the expectations of those customers in areas such as eco-friendly initiatives. Noted Betancourt López, “In the world now, everything is faster, including awareness. It’s a big thing today. Not only social responsibility and environment but everything.”
Being Conscious About What Matters Does Matter
When it comes to incorporating eco-friendly initiatives into business, Betancourt López makes it clear that this isn’t something new. At Hawkers, the company launched a range of products focused on sustainability and recycled materials.
He notes that the effort was, in part, based on consumer desire, sharing, “We always have been conscious about sustainability, and we know that the market is shifting toward that direction. Everyone is getting more conscious and wanting to understand how the product they buy impacts their life, but also the world and environment as well.”
Some companies are pushing back against customers who want to know the intricate details of how products are made and how sustainable the company is. For some businesses, the shift to eco-friendly and sustainable solutions seems out of line with cost expectations and low-price demands.
Betancourt López disagrees, sharing, “It think it’s fair that we provide that information and that kind of intel to the consumer and to clients. The assurance is that we can develop products that are also responsible to the environment, and at the same time, we can provide customers with a quality product and keep the brand at its highest level.”
Providing consumers with valuable insights into how the company does business when it comes to environmentally friendly practices is just good business, and it helps organizations stand out from the crowd by differentiating their products.
Competition has long been a factor when it comes to launching and developing his businesses. At Hawkers, Betancourt López knew the company had a fantastic product, but it was going up against huge names in the industry that had virtually monopolized it for decades. Betancourt López led the company to create a high-quality product with a much more affordable price point.
Price was a differentiating factor, but quality and Betancourt López’s early-adopter strategy of using influencers and online media for marketing was also a big reason Hawkers took off. He knew that standing out from the crowd made a significant difference. To that end, he notes, “It was cool, it was fresh, and we are doing something different than anybody else at the time, which is online social and social media marketing. That approach disrupted the market in the way we penetrated it. I think that innovation was what helped build the brand into what it is today.”
Competing with a Balance of Price and Sustainability
Offering a great product that has to compete with the current market share while being sustainable can seem like an impossible challenge for some companies, but for Hawkers, it’s a part of their history and the foundation of creating success.
Says Alejandro Betancourt López, “The sensitivity and elasticity on pricing in regard to demand are very important factors for companies. That is where we have been establishing ourselves and being strong. We have proven that there’s a lot of elasticity there. And, when we provide a good quality product and we market it in the right way, we show the customer that this is a good or even better option. I would even say our product is a better product than some higher-end products on the market.” The company continues to offer highly competitive pricing, noting that, as Betancourt López says, “Sunglasses cannot cost hundreds of dollars. This is where we have been taking big chunks of the demand on the market,” he adds, referring to the move toward price-friendly products.
Technology and Disruptive Solutions
While there can be a disconnect between technological advances and eco-friendly development, for Alejandro Betancourt López, there are core benefits as well. The company, for example, is utilizing artificial intelligence and virtual reality to create new tools. He notes, “We have a team working on things like virtual try-ons and algorithms that create more efficient marketing, or can provide insight into what different markets’ tastes are, allowing for a more visual understanding of the shift in demand.”
He notes, “We have a team working on using AI tools that can help to make the company more efficient, faster, and provide real-time data that’s meaningful.” That includes making marketing decisions, enhancing product design and spend, and even developing new technologies for reducing costs related to energy use. There are numerous environmental benefits that could come from incorporating more efficiencies in every stage of the business, and these new technologies could help companies far and wide apply them.
When it comes down to it, remaining competitive and offering a high-quality product are the most essential factors for business success. Social awareness and sustainability are big factors for consumers and companies today.
In summing up his take, Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López points out, “That’s something that for the future, that any company or any player doing business in this sector of this industry has to understand, that it’s not because you have a strong brand that you can charge any price. I think there’s a more conscious market, and they now have a better understanding of what makes sense.” Companies that don’t embrace the need and demand for a better quality product that’s eco-friendly and built sustainability could find themselves well behind the competition.
Originally published at https://www.ceotodaymagazine.com on December 18, 2023.
