{"id":1163,"date":"2015-12-05T15:58:54","date_gmt":"2015-12-05T20:58:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/warby-parker-making-eyewear-accessible\/"},"modified":"2015-12-05T15:58:54","modified_gmt":"2015-12-05T20:58:54","slug":"warby-parker-making-eyewear-accessible","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/warby-parker-making-eyewear-accessible\/","title":{"rendered":"Warby Parker – making eyewear accessible"},"content":{"rendered":"

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How it all started <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Warby Parker (\u201cWP\u201d) is an American glasses brand that was founded in 2010 with the objective to offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially businesses<\/em>. At the time, the company\u2019s co-founders, David Gilboa and Neil Blumenthal, were frustrated by the unaffordability of prescription glasses \u2013 an essential item for many people. They realized that the uniformly high price for the product is because the eyewear industry was dominated by a single company, Luxottica, which took advantage of its monopoly position (controls 80% of all eyewear companies) and reaped huge benefits from customers. David and Neil started WP with the goal of making good-quality glasses more affordable and accessible to everyone. The ultimate mission of WP is to decrease the number of people who cannot effectively learn or work due to lack of access to glasses (currently at ~1 billion, or 15% of world population).<\/p>\n

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Business Model <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

As a start-up, WP has inevitably gone through several iterations of its business model since the company was founded five years ago. WP started off as an e-commerce platform that ships five pairs of \u201ctrial glasses\u201d to its customers so they can try them on at home or outside for five days at no cost. After the trial period, the customer returns all five pairs of glasses and orders one(s) that they want to keep (at $95 per pair, including frame and lenses). WP will then ship them a brand new pair of their chosen glasses.<\/p>\n

The launch was highly successful. Customers demanded that there be physical locations for them to try on the glasses to make the purchasing process easier. To satisfy the demand, WP has opened 12 storefronts to date.<\/p>\n

An important part of WP\u2019s identity is its social mission. Since day one, the company vowed to \u201cbuy a pair, give a pair,\u201d and has kept its promise.<\/p>\n

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Operating Model<\/u><\/strong>: <\/strong><\/p>\n