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How Will Retail Look in a Warby Parker Future?

Written by RetailWire Staff

There were lots of good workshops at last week's Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition (IRCE), but only one where my jaw actually dropped. The story of Warby Parker, an eyeglass brand/retailer is so "out of the box" that it makes you wonder about the future of long established chain retailers, and some brands as well.

Initially an online-only company, Warby Parker was established in 2010 by a group of college students who did some research and found little to no innovation in the category, but very high margins. Further, they noticed that one company, Luxottica, owns or licenses many retail and fashion eyewear brands, including Ray-Ban, Oakley, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical and Sunglass Hut. Luxottica does $8 billion in annual revenue, versus their next largest competitor, which does $1.5 billion.

So, Warby Parker cut out the middlemen, took aim at Luxottica and built a company that sells its own brand direct to the public. Warby Parker sources and designs its own product and sells fashionable eyewear mainly online, although they do now have some physical locations, including a flagship store in New York City.

[Image: Warby Parker]

From a customer's point of view, Warby Parker offers a number of unique advantages:

  • Most glasses are sold for $95 for stylish, premium eyewear, including prescription lenses.
  • Shipping and returns are free, even though returned custom product can't be re-sold.
  • Customer service is handled in-house and the staff often makes short videos in reply to customer Tweets, personalizing the service experience.
  • Virtual recognition technology allows customers to "try on" glasses online.
  • A home try-on program is offered free — the customer gets five frames to try on for five days.
  • One pair of glasses is donated to the needy for every pair purchased.

Warby Parker bills itself as a fashion brand, offering value and service with a social mission. It relies on social media for most of its marketing and customers do most of the storytelling. Co-founder and co-CEO Dave Gilboa says Warby Parker's Net Promoter score is 91, higher than Apple or Zappos. And, he says, there are at least 10 opportunities for user-generated content when buying their glasses.

Issues remain, however. Warby Parker does not accept insurance and, with so few locations, customers have to take their glasses elsewhere for adjustment. Though they have raised $55 million in investment funding, Warby Parker is not releasing financial information, so it's tough to know whether it is profitable. It has already attracted at least one imitator, though — www.eyefly.com.

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