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Warby Parker

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Warby Parker Inc.
FormerlyJAND Inc.
Company typePublic
NYSE: WRBY
IndustryRetail
FoundedFebruary 2010; 14 years ago (2010-02) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Founders
  • Jeffrey Raider
  • Andrew Hunt
  • Neil Blumenthal
  • David Gilboa
Headquarters
New York City
,
U.S.
Number of locations
237 (2023)
Key people
RevenueIncrease US$670 million (2023)
Negative increase US$−72 million (2023)
Negative increase US$−63 million (2023)
Total assetsIncrease US$580 million (2023)
Total equityIncrease US$302 million (2023)
Number of employees
3,491 (2023)
Websitewarbyparker.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Warby Parker Inc. is an American manufacturer and retailer of prescription glasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses, based in New York City. Founded in 2010, it was initially an online-only retailer. It now receives about 90% of its revenue from its 237 physical retail stores, 232 of which are in the U.S. and 5 of which are in Canada.[1] It also offers eye exams.[1] The company has 2.28 million customers, with an average order value of $263.[1] The company's goal is to operate 900 stores.[2]

The interior of a Warby Parker retail store at Washington Union Station

Warby Parker is headquartered in New York City. The name "Warby Parker" derives from two characters that appear in a journal written by Jack Kerouac.[3]

Warby Parker designs its products in-house and sells them directly to consumers through its website and stores. The company orders its own materials, such as acetate, from Italy and then manufactures frames at the same Chinese factories as competitors such as Luxottica.[4]

History

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The company was founded in 2010 in Philadelphia by Neil Blumenthal, Andrew Hunt, David Gilboa, and Jeffrey Raider while they were students at Wharton School as JAND, Inc., an acronym for the names of the founders.[5][6]

The company was started in the Venture Initiation Program of the school.[7] The company received $2,500 seed investment through the program and launched in February 2010.[7] That month, shortly after launching, the company was covered by Vogue.[8] In May 2011, Warby Parker raised its first round of funding totaling $2.5 million. In September 2011, the company raised a Series A round of $12.5 million.[9] In September 2012, it raised a $37 million Series B round.[10] It raised an additional $4 million in February 2013 from American Express and Mickey Drexler.[11] In 2011, Warby Parker shipped more than 100,000 pairs of glasses and had 60 employees.[12] By the end of 2012, the company had grown to around 100 employees. In April 2015, the company raised $100 million in a funding round led by T. Rowe Price, valuing it at $1.2 billion.[13]

In 2017, the company opened a $16 million optical lab in Rockland County, New York, to create and manufacture glasses in-house instead of paying external manufacturers. The lab has 34,000 square feet and employs 130 staff.[14][15]

For a limited time in 2016, in addition to eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses, Warby Parker sold monocles with prescription lenses.[16]

In March 2018, Warby Parker raised $75 million in Series E funding, making its total funding about $300 million.[17]

In August 2020, Warby Parker raised $245 million in a funding round that valued the company at $3 billion. The $245 million was a combination of a Series F round and a Series G round.[18][19]

On September 29, 2021, the company became a public company via a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange.[20][21]

In October 2023, a federal appeals court ruled that the company's use of keyword 1-800 Contacts in search engine optimization to redirect search engine users to its website did not violate U.S. trademark law.[22]

Retail model

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Vintage-style Warby Parker sign at a retail store on 82nd and Lexington Ave. in NYC

The company primarily sells eyewear online and through its retail locations in the United States and Canada. Warby Parker's "Home-Try-On program" is a strategy used by the company in which its customers select five frames from the website, which they receive and try on at home within a 5-day period, free of charge. The company has programs where customers upload a photo and try on frames virtually through their mobile app.[23]

Warby Parker began operating online exclusively in 2010 and opened its first store in April 2013.[24] As Warby Parker's revenue started to grow, the company began opening brick-and-mortar showrooms across the country. Following the opening of its retail stores, the company announced its plan to build its own point of sale system,[25] which was implemented by 2015.[26] In 2015, it established a partnership with Nordstrom, the brand's first national retail partnership, which led the company to establish six curated pop-up shops nationwide.

By January 2017, the company operated around 41 stores in 28 U.S. states along with two stores in Toronto and one in Vancouver.[27]

By February 2018, it operated 64 stores.[28]

Corporate social responsibility

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Warby Parker uses a social entrepreneurship model, described as "buy one, give one".[29] For each pair of glasses purchased, the company pays for the production of another pair of eyeglasses for the nonprofit organization VisionSpring.[30][31] In June 2014, Warby Parker announced that it had distributed one million pairs of eyeglasses to people in need.[32] As of 2023, the company has distributed over 15 million pairs of glasses through the program. The company also claims to be 100% carbon neutral.[33]

The company received B Corp certification soon after its founding but let the status lapse, choosing against reincorporating as a Benefit corporation.[34] Warby Parker became a public benefit corporation in mid-2021.[35][36]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Warby Parker Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ McMillen, Jenn (August 26, 2024). "The Optics Behind Warby Parker's 600-Store Expansion Plan". Forbes.
  3. ^ O'Connell, Vanessa (July 18, 2012). "Warby Parker Co-Founder Says Initial Vision Was All About Price". The Wall Street Journal.
  4. ^ "Why 4 B-School Students Decided To Found Warby Parker". Disruption. May 17, 2016.
  5. ^ Selipsky, Nina (January 25, 2017). "Warby Parker comes home to Philadelphia". The Daily Pennsylvanian.
  6. ^ Denning, Steve (March 23, 2016). "What's Behind Warby Parker's Success?". Forbes.
  7. ^ a b Corbyn, Zoë (September 24, 2012). "Take one start-up, add expertise and grow with care". The Financial Times.
  8. ^ Bahrenburg, Genevieve (February 22, 2010). "In Focus: Warby Parker Eyewear". Vogue.
  9. ^ McMhana, Ty (September 22, 2011). "Stylish Eyewear Maker Warby Parker Tries on $12M In Funding". The Wall Street Journal.
  10. ^ Primack, Dan (September 9, 2012). "Warby Parker raises $37 million". Fortune.
  11. ^ de la Merced, Michael J. (February 24, 2012). "J.Crew Chief and American Express Invest in Warby Parker". The New York Times.
  12. ^ "Warby Parker: A brand born out of the founder's plight". Hindustan Times. April 4, 2023.
  13. ^ MacMillan, Douglas (April 20, 2015). "Eyeglass Retailer Warby Parker Valued at $1.2 Billion". The Wall Street Journal.
  14. ^ Juang, Mike (June 6, 2017). "Sloatsburg, NY, town of around 3,000, offers a peek at the future of eyeglasses". CNBC.
  15. ^ Segran, Elizabeth (June 27, 2016). "Warby Parker is opening an enormous new optical lab in Rockland County". Fast Company.
  16. ^ Redick, Scott (May 16, 2012). "When Big Ideas Come From Small Companies". AdAge.
  17. ^ Thomas, Lauren (March 14, 2018). "Warby Parker raises $75 million in latest round of funding". CNBC.
  18. ^ Shen, Lucinda (August 27, 2020). "Warby Parker raises $245 million for a $3 billion valuation". Fortune.
  19. ^ Crook, Jordan (August 27, 2020). "Warby Parker, valued at $3 billion, raises $245 million in funding". Techcrunch.
  20. ^ Hirsch, Lauren (September 29, 2021). "With sales soaring, Warby Parker prepares for its market debut". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  21. ^ Thomas, Lauren (September 29, 2021). "Warby Parker opens at $54.05 per share in public debut on NYSE, soaring more than 30% above reference price". CNBC.
  22. ^ Brittain, Blake (October 8, 2024). "Warby Parker fends off 1-800 Contacts' keyword ad case at US appeals court". Reuters.
  23. ^ Mitroff, Sarah (September 12, 2012). "With $37M, Warby Parker Sets Its Sights on More Than Just Eyeglasses". Wired.
  24. ^ Sebra, Matt (April 15, 2013). "Store Spotlight: Warby Parker's First Flagship Store". GQ.
  25. ^ Del Rey, Jason (June 24, 2013). "An Unlikely Startup Enters the Point-of-Sale Business: Warby Parker". All Things Digital.
  26. ^ McDowell, Maghan (December 14, 2015). "Warby Parker Opens Store in San Jose". Women's Wear Daily.
  27. ^ Howland, Daphne (January 24, 2017). "Warby Parker to open at least 25 physical stores in 2017". Industry Dive.
  28. ^ Thomas, Lauren (February 15, 2018). "Warby Parker will soon operate nearly 100 stores and other Web retailers are following its lead". CNBC.
  29. ^ Peart, Nathan (April 7, 2020). "As Millennials And Gen-Z Become More Brand Conscious, How Will Professional Services Adapt?". Forbes.
  30. ^ Fitzgerald, Michael (February 10, 2015). "For Warby Parker, Free Glasses Equals Clear Company Vision". Entrepreneur.
  31. ^ Gerber, Monica (December 22, 2011). "Warby Parker may have a better 'buy one, give one' model". Christian Science Monitor.
  32. ^ Chokkattu, Julian (June 25, 2014), "Warby Parker Hits One Million Glasses Sold, Distributed", TechCrunch
  33. ^ Zelman, Josh (February 24, 2012). "In Focus: Warby Parker Eyewear". TechCrunch.
  34. ^ Marquis, Christopher (2020). Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism. Yale University Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-300-25615-4.
  35. ^ Deffenbaugh, Ryan (August 26, 2021). "Warby Parker public offering brings test for companies promising societal good". Crain Communications.
  36. ^ Wilhelm, Alex (August 25, 2021). "D2C specs purveyor Warby Parker files to go public". TechCrunch.
[edit]
  • Official website
  • Business data for Warby Parker, Inc.:
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