{"id":2675,"date":"2015-12-07T22:37:34","date_gmt":"2015-12-08T03:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/warby-parker-no-blind-spots-for-the-company-thats-revolutionizing-eyewear\/"},"modified":"2015-12-07T22:48:18","modified_gmt":"2015-12-08T03:48:18","slug":"warby-parker-no-blind-spots-for-the-company-thats-revolutionizing-eyewear","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/warby-parker-no-blind-spots-for-the-company-thats-revolutionizing-eyewear\/","title":{"rendered":"Warby Parker: No Blind Spots for the Company that\u2019s Revolutionizing Eyewear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eyewear, hassle-free<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last month, my dog Charlie chewed and destroyed my only pair of eye glasses. I emailed the company from whom I had purchased the glasses \u2013 Warby Parker \u2013 and, 10 days later and only $85 poorer, had a brand new pair in hand with the following message: \u201cI\u2019m so sorry to hear that your dog ate your frames! I discounted your order by $10 because we definitely understand that it wasn\u2019t your fault! If your pooch is looking for a pair of frames of his own, be sure to check out our sister company Warby Barker.\u201d<\/p>\n

This experience had me thinking: under the same circumstances in the pre-Warby era, I would have had to contact my eye doctor to get a copy of my prescription, physically visit a retail shop, try on dozens of frames and shell out hundreds of dollars. How did Warby Parker pull this off?<\/p>\n

A closer look<\/strong><\/p>\n

Five years ago, David Gilboa and Neil Blumenthal founded Warby Parker to challenge Italian giant Luxottica, which controlled 80% of the eyewear industry. The start-up hit its annual sales target within\u00a0three weeks<\/em> of launching. Warby Parker has now raised $115.5 million, makes more than $100 million annual revenue, and counts 500 employees and 12 stores.<\/p>\n

Visionary business model<\/strong><\/p>\n

Warby\u2019s success hinges on delivering on three value propositions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. It\u2019s affordable.<\/em><\/strong> All Warby Parker glasses cost $95 (including the frame and lens), coming in at a fraction of traditional designer eyewear (a Prada pair can cost $700).<\/li>\n
  2. It\u2019s easy.<\/em><\/strong> Warby Parker promises its customers unprecedented convenience through its one-stop-shop approach. Warby offers in-store eye exams for a very reasonable $75. Customers can try on as many frames as they like, unlike at traditional eyewear stores where a salesperson usually handles each pair a customer wants to look at. The glasses are then delivered to customer homes in two weeks. \u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. It\u2019s cool.<\/em><\/strong> Beyond the economic and functional value, Warby creates a tremendous amount of experiential and ego-expressive value for its market \u2013 the hip millennial. Its glasses collection is fashion-forward and customers wear their \u201cWarbies\u201d proudly (so much so, in fact, that Warby Parker sells non-prescription glasses with clear lens). Their stores \u2013 immaculately decorated \u2013 have transformed glasses shopping from a chore to a cool experience.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Operating model that sees eye-to-eye with strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>Warby Parker\u2019s operational decisions very deliberately aligned with its business strategy, which was critical to turn its vision into reality.<\/p>\n