3 visionaries came together to create an eyewear brand known as Warby Parker. The idea was simple: to create a brand that would be high quality and fashionable without excessive pricing. People loved the initiative, and the company successfully reached its first year of sales goals within a week. 100 million units were sold, and the company reached a value of 1.2 billion.
According to Harvard Business School, Warby Parker, in their third year of operation, doubled their workforce and invented a new eyewear culture. We were obsessed with Harvard Business Review Warby Parker, and thus, this digital piece was curated to let you know about the company insights and its massive growth.
What made Warby Parker a global sensation in the United States?
The answer lies in their motto, “Try 5 frames at your home for free, with return shipping included”. The try-at-home model made it talk of the town, and they were able to sell each pair of sunglasses with a profit of 95 dollars. Sources from Forbes revealed that they reached their full-year goals within 3 weeks of their launch and had 20,000 customers waiting.
So how did they manage such a large amount of profit in the eyes of the industry? According to our research, they directly worked with the manufacturing unit using their own design, and thus, the initial pricing of the eyeglasses was kept so low. In short, they eliminated middlemen to cut extra costs.
16 years from now, the model will remain the same. Single lens prescription glasses are still priced at 95 dollars. However, the stylish frames can range up to $ 200 depending on the style and add-ons like light-filtering lenses and anti-fatigue lenses. This can get the cost up to 300 dollars. This is much higher than what a US person spends on average, which is 103 dollars, as per reports from statista.
How do they manage the market despite big giants in the industry?
To be honest, they are just concentrating on themselves and don’t look at the market competition. If you notice closely, they only have 1 percent of sales despite the 66% market that is dominated by Walmart, Vision Stores, and Luxottica. Some of the reason its still making sales are as follows :
Reason 1: Store locations
The online competition for Warby is sky high. They have direct rivals like Pair eyewear, Zeeni optical, and Amazon. That’s hardly a problem for them since they have strategically placed their physical stores.
One watch out: Their physical shops have urban placement rather than shopping centres, which encourages impulse browsing. Impulse browsing refers to the act of randomly going inside the store, trying out their product for fun, without any intention to buy it. Once they like the vibe and how pretty they look with the product, they are able to make the purchase.
Reason 2: Artificial intelligence
With the help of artificial intelligence, they are able to reach customers instantly. The software is able to save time, reduce prescription costs, provide a personalized experience, and provide better accessibility.
Take the example of Patrick, who is a software developer facing blurry vision. Instead of going to the doctor and spending time on a prescription, they could readily open the Warby Parker app and do a quick vision test while the AI compares the new results with the old results from the prescription.
Once the test is complete, Patrick gets a new prescription; he has the facility to order new sets directly from home, and he also saves time waiting for the doctor.
Reason 3: Their follow-up schemes
The online system of Warner is simply class unmated. It does not send customers frequent emails to enter into “creepy zone”. They just notice customer behaviour and then send a set of questions that would help staff employees to know the customer better.
Robust delivery system
When we were studying Harvard Business Review Warby Parker, we came across a term known as a robust delivery model. This is a new model designed by their team that bypasses the traditional business model. With the help of this model, they directly purchase high-quality materials from overseas, like Japan and Italy, then design on their own, and then sell directly to the customers online.
As per reports from Harvard edu, the company also encourages a fun culture, which means they heavily appreciate out-of-the-box thinking and ensure a friendly atmosphere is maintained with the customers. In addition, the company let go of 50 employees since they were “too professional” and did not treat them as family or their friends. This revolutionary business model, along with a fun culture, has been the reason for their success.
Takeaway
Warner has been relevant in the eyewear market since they have bypassed the traditional business model and really secured its own line of product marketing. They don’t follow their competitors; they just have enough skills and vision to let them double their sales every year.
