Dr. Harvey Moscot and Zack Moscot on running a global, fifth-generation family business

More than 100-years-old, Moscot's Lower East Side store is decidedly a New York institution. And worldwide, the eyewear company has 15 retail locations. But that's not to suggest that physical retail is the company's sole focus.

"We started our transition [to go] fully into digital several years ago," Zack Moscot, a fifth-generation Moscot and the company's chief design officer, said on the latest Glossy Podcast. "So when the pandemic hit, we were able to pivot and really step on the gas when we needed to."

Along with the company's direct-to-consumer sales channels, it has wholesale distribution in Europe, retail partners in Asia and "selective distribution" through retailers in the U.S. "We partner with those that help tell our story, and understand who and what we are, and don't view us as just another eyewear brand," said Dr. Harvey Moscot, a fourth-generation Moscot (Zack's father) and the company's CEO.

The company's history is a key differentiator, said Zack Moscot. "Very few businesses, especially in America, make it to the fifth generation and keep it in the family," he said.

And the company is just as selective about where it sets up its own shops.

"We get offered opportunities in malls. We just never felt like we could really portray ourselves in a mall environment," said Dr. Harvey Moscot. "Where we have the opportunity to select a location that feels right for the brand, that reminds us of the Lower East Side in New York City -- which happened in London, which happened in Amsterdam -- those are the areas that we seek. It's those kind of creative epicenters."