Warby Parker: Transforming eyewear
“When we looked at the eyewear category, we thought, how can we come in here and radically transform it?”
- Neil Blumenthal, Co-founder
Since launching in 2O10 lifestyle brand Warby Parker has completely shaken up the eyewear category in the US. Firstly by Challenging the huge companies such as Luxottica who have amassed such power they basically control the industry.
Luxottica owns some of the biggest brands in the industry such as Ray-Ban, Oakley and Persol as well as many of the large US retail chains such as Pearl Vision and Sunglass Hut. By being vertically integrated and manufacturing glasses in house Warby Parker could offer a product normally retailing for $500 for just $95 – competing on style but beating them by some distance on price.
Secondly, they realised that because the same players had been dominating the market for so long, there was no real change or innovation going on. As co-founder Neil Blumenthal explains in this Challenger Brand Profile; being outsiders to the industry enabled them to take a completely fresh approach, rethinking the brand and purchasing experience both online and in stores.
Warby Parker in brief
In 2010, the founders of Warby Parker collaborated to fix the issue that was that eyewear was too expensive.
They aimed to create a brand that offered affordable eyewear by selling directly to consumers and designing in-house.
In the current day, they have sold and donated over 1,000,000 pairs of glasses to people in need.
Music: “Roscoe” by Poddington Bear