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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mollyyoung (talk | contribs) at 15:40, 4 March 2013. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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Proposal to bring this article up-to-date

Hello! I am working on behalf of Warby Parker to update this article. I noticed that the article had an excellent foundation, and I am proposing to update it with additional well-sourced facts and data. I am a Wikipedia user and this is the first time I have suggested updates to an article with which I have a *very clear* conflict of interest, so I feel quite uncomfortable making these suggestions. My hope is that the info is neutral/well-sourced, and that it can provide a jumping-off point for updating the Warby Parker page.

With that long preamble over, I am placing a draft of the proposed update in a collapse box below. Any feedback at all would be gratefully received.

Mollyyoung (talk) 14:46, 4 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]


Proposed revision of Warby Parker article

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Proposed additions to infobox:

Founded: 2010 Products: eyeglasses and sunglasses Type: Private

Warby Parker

Warby Parker is an American company selling prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses under its own brand. Warby Parker sells online, and has a limited number of showrooms in the United States. [1] By designing glasses in-house and avoiding the overhead of physical stores, the company is able to lower the cost of its glasses by a significant amount; generally, to $95. [2] Along with the low cost, the company is known for selling frames —sometimes described as vintage-inspired— that have been praised by ELLE, [3]Esquire,[4] Vogue,[5] GQ [6] and others.

The company was founded in 2010 by Neil Blumenthal, Andrew Hunt, David Gilboa, and Jeffrey Raider [7] GQ and is headquartered in New York City. The name “Warby Parker” derives from two characters that appear in a journal by the Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac.

The company was bootstrapped by the four founders and launched in February 2010. Shortly after launching, the company was featured in GQ, which called it “the Netflix of eyewear”. [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 Fall 2012, it raised a $37 million Series B round,[10] with an additional $4 million announced in February 2013 with noted investors American Express and Mickey Drexler [11].

Products

Warby Parker designs glasses in-house and sells directly to customers to avoid retail markups. [12] A lower price point is also possible because glasses are designed in-house, eliminating licensing fees that can be as much as 15% of the wholesale cost on a pair of glasses. Warby Parker does not sell glasses through brick-and-mortar retailers, whose markups can double or triple prices.[13]

Warby Parker’s Home-Try-On program allows customers to choose five frames from the website, which they receive to try on at home for five days, free of charge. Customers can also upload a photo and try on frames virtually. [14] The company primarily sells eyewear online and through its New York City headquarters. It also maintains a limited number of showrooms located in boutiques through the United States. [15]

Monocle

One of Warby Parker’s signature offerings is a monocle, which is available with a prescription lens. [16]

Social Innovation

For every pair of Warby Parker glasses purchased, a pair is distributed to someone in need. Rather than donate glasses using a more traditional “one-for-one” model, Warby Parker funds the production of a pair of eyeglasses for non-profit organization VisionSpring, which VisionSpring in turn sells either directly to Base of the Pyramid (BoP) consumers or to vision entrepreneurs. [17]. Warby Parker is a certified B Corporation with areas of excellence in Accountability and Consumers.[18] The company is 100% carbon neutral. [19]

Growth

Warby Parker is expected to open its first retail store in 2013. [20] Previously the company opened a temporary retail store, the “Holiday Spectacle Bazaar”, in Soho. [21]They also launched a “traveling store on wheels”[22] and hosted a festival at SXSW.[23] In 2012 Warby Parker released its first TV ad. [24]


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  1. ^ Miller, Claire Cain. “Start-Up Has Vision to Sell Glasses Online” New York Times, 16 January 2011>
  2. ^ Pack, Amy. “Warby Parker’s Vision for Growth” CNBC.com 11 June 2012
  3. ^ Levinson, Lauren. “Sophia Bush Poses for Warby Parker x Pencils of Promise” Elle.com 15 October 2012
  4. ^ Soller, Kurt. “Warby Parker Prescription Shades” Esquire 20 April 2012
  5. ^ Bahrenburg, Genevieve. “In Focus: Warby Parker Eyewear” Vogue 22 February 2010
  6. ^ Sebra, Matthew. “Exclusive First Look: Warby Parker’s Hayworth Collection” GQ.com 12 February 2013
  7. ^ Bahrenburg, Genevieve. “In Focus: Warby Parker Eyewear” Vogue 22 February 2010
  8. ^ Wong, Danny. “GQ Calls It the Netflix of Eyewear” Huffington Post 29 November 2010
  9. ^ McMahan, Ty. “Stylish Eyewear Maker Warby Parker Tries on $12M in Funding” Wall Street Journal 22 September 2011
  10. ^ Primack, Dan. “Warby Parker Raises $37 Million” CNN Money 9 September 2012
  11. ^ De La Merced, Michael J. “J.Crew Chief and American Express Invest in Warby Parker“ New York Times 24 February 2013
  12. ^ Mitroff, Sarah. “With $37M, Warby Parker Sets Its Sights on More Than Just Eyeglasses” Wired.com 9 September 2012
  13. ^ Berfield, Susan. “Hip Eyewear: Warby Parker’s New Spectacles” Businessweek 30 June 2011
  14. ^ Mitroff, Sarah. “With $37M, Warby Parker Sets Its Sights on More Than Just Eyeglasses” Wired.com 9 September 2012
  15. ^ Warby Parker Showrooms http://www.warbyparker.com/showrooms
  16. ^ Redick, Scott. “When Big Ideas Come from Small Companies” AdAge 16 May 2012
  17. ^ Zax, Laura. “The VisionSpring Model: Creating Markets and Players Instead of Empty CSR” Forbes 5 October 2012
  18. ^ B Corp Directory: Warby Parker http://www.bcorporation.net/community/directory/warbyparker
  19. ^ Zelman, Josh. (Founder Stories) Warby Parker: “Less Than 1% of Eyeglasses Were Sold Online” TechCrunch 24 February 2012
  20. ^ Yannetta, Tiffany. “Warby Parker’s First Non-Internet Store is Coming to Soho” Racked 16 July 2012
  21. ^ Holt, Emily. “Another Pop-Up Pops Up: The Warby Parker Holiday Spectacle Bazaar” Vogue.com 23 November 2011
  22. ^ Lapowsky, Issie. “How Warby Parker Reinvented Retail” Inc 26 Dec 2010
  23. ^ Teicher, David. “What Top Brands, From Amex to Warby Parker, Are Doing at SXSW” AdAge 12 March 2012
  24. ^ Elliott, Stuart. “Quirky Eyewear Brand Tries TV as an Ad Medium” New York Times 20 September 2012
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