Eyeglasses are no new invention. People have been using corrective lenses in some form for centuries. Stylish frames are no new invention either. People have been wearing (what they thought were) stylish frames for almost as long. But making the “designer” frames affordable and worth the cost is new. The founders of Warby Parker saw a problem: eyeglasses are too expensive. This became apparent when the team that would go on to found Warby Parker was on a backpacking trip; one of the members snagged his glasses on his pack causing them to break, and because of the cost spent the first semester of grad-school without badly needed glasses. The others had had similar though less dramatic experiences, and decided to do something about it.
What they realized is that the eyeglasses market occupied almost entirely by one company. Because this company had a virtual monopoly, they could charge sometimes outrageous and almost always inflated prices. Warby Parker was conceived to offer consumers an alternative. Warby Parker designs in-house, interacts directly with customers, and avoids traditional channels. This allows them to create better eyeglasses (since they interface with customers directly and have a finger on the pulse of the market) for cheaper (because they have more control over their costs and savings).
Their belief is that everyone has the right to see. While there are about a billion people globally without access to glasses, 15% of the world cannot effectively work or learn due simply to bad eyesight. Warby Parker wants to change that, and they’re moving towards this goal by ensuring that for every pair of Warby Parker glasses purchased, another pair is given to someone who would not otherwise have access.
What’s interesting about this brand is the sort of social-enterprise-commercial-enterprise-hybrid that it takes on. Warby Parker is not a non-profit, but they’re not a “for-profit” either; they seem to tread the line between the two in the sense that they take profit, but they don’t exist for the purpose of it and they’re not particularly motivated by it. Instead, they’re “for-good”, with profits simply happening on the side.
You can learn more about Warby Parker (or shop their products) at their website.
I love this story and love how you showed that they didn’t invent something new. Warby Parker simply gave designer looking glasses to the public for affordable prices. The founders saw that there was a need for glasses that looked designer at a super affordable price. Great post!
This is a really cool company that recognizes the fact that it is not anyone’s fault that they cannot see perfectly (probably, anyway). This seems like a great company, but I would love to know how making the process more personal in terms of design and customer involvement keeps the cost down? That seems like something that would keep the cost just as high, if not higher, because the quality is better?