Warby Parker – Industry Analysis

Warby Parker 1. Comment on the vision of Warby Parker. Is it unique from that of others in the industry? How? Warby Parker’s vision makes customers’ dreams into reality. When the other glasses companies sell a pair of eyeglasses for about $265, Warby Parker make it $95 for the selling price (Taub, 2012). Yes, it is unique because of its selling price (Taub, 2012). The price is low but the quality does not go down (Taub, 2012). Besides, Warby Parker also has in house designer to create different styles of glasses without needing customers to pay more (Taub, 2012). 2. What makes Warby Parker’s business unique from others in the eyeglass industry? Warby Parker’s business is unique from others in the eyeglass industry because the selling price is $95, which is $170 lower than average selling price (Diebel, 2014; Taub, 2012; The Muse, 2012). When others try to earn huge profit, Warby Parker makes it affordable for almost everyone (Diebel, 2014). Warby Parker’s mission is different from others (Burke, 2015). When Warby Parker sells a pair of glasses, it also gives a pair to those who in need from developing countries like India and Bangladesh (Burke, 2015). The frames and materials are from the same factories with others (Taub, 2012). Warby Parker can charge this low because it does not need to go through distributors or retailers to get the eyeglasses (O’Toole, 2013; Taub, 2012). The selling price is not only for frames and glasses but also shipping fee, returns fee and someone in need (Taub, 2012). Customer would not need to take extra money for add-ons, everything is included with only $95 (Taub, 2015). 3. How would you describe Warby Parker’s concept towards balancing profitability, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility? Warby Parker sells the eyeglasses at the price of $95 (The Muse, 2012). Warby Parker set it price considering the psychology side of consumers (Burke, 2015). With $99, the brand would seem like a discount one (Burke, 2015). Customers will not be doubting about the quality as they know about the reason behind through social media (The Muse, 2012). The price strategy gives confidences to the consumers (Chafkin, n.d; The Muse, 2012). From the other aspects, Warby Parker is able to maintain its profitability and sustainability because of the designs and the price that attracts customers (Haid, 2014). Besides, Warby Parker also take care of the customers (The Muse, 2012). Customers can purchase online or in-store (Haid, 2014). To maintain its sustainability, the employees are also asked to provide feedbacks or 360 degree of view to the company (The Muse, 2012). In addition, health care is also provided to the employees (The Muse, 2012). These efforts are to ensure the employees to work professionally without forgetting their health (The Muse, 2012). From the aspect of corporate social responsibility, Warby Parker offers eyeglasses that are cheaper than the average selling price because the co-founders believes that spectacles can help increase someone’s productivity for about thirty five percent (Haid, 2014). Furthermore, it also helps someone’s potential income for about twenty percent because of the clearer vision given by the eyeglasses (The Muse, 2012). When Warby Parker sells one pair of eyeglasses, it also donates one to the ones in needs (Taub, 2012). For eye testing, Warby Parker’s partner, Vision Spring will train people to conduct eye testing (Haid, 2014). Besides, Warby Parker also encourages women at Bangladesh and India to sell eyeglasses to earn for livings (The Muse, 2012). To minimize the negative environment impact, Warby Parker uses carbon neutral to produce the eyeglasses (The Muse, 2012). In addition, Warby Parker also creates breast cancer awareness by putting the eyeglasses into pink color (The Muse, 2012). 4. What do you think about Warby Parker’s business model? Is it sustainable? Warby Parker is a low cost business model (Gleeson, n.d.). It sells eyeglasses for only $95, which is much cheaper than the average prices. In this business model, Warby Parker can earn by selling to a significant numbers of customers (Gleeson, n.d.). The business model allows the company to do goods while not hurting the costs. However, if the price of costs goes up, Warby Parker may hurt the costs (Gleeson, n.d.). Besides, Warby Parker is also a disintermediation business model (Maus, n.d.). The company sells directly to the customers online and also in store (Maus, n.d.). It would be sustainable if the company can handle well of the relationships with customers (Maus, n.d.). 5. Comment on Warby Parker’s marketing, especially their use of social media.

How are they successful in using this medium to reach out to customers? Warby Parker first launched in two magazines which are Vogue and GQ (Burke, 2015; Chafkin, n.d; Markowitz, 2012). Both of the magazines specializes in health and fashion (Burke, 2015). Due to the advertisements on both magazines, Warby Parker sold out fifteen pairs of eyeglasses and had twenty thousands of orders within fourteen days (Markowitz, 2012). Besides, Warby Parker also began do advertisements on Google AdWaords (Markowitz, 2012). People these days would not easily affected by advertisements (O’Toole, 2013). However, the consumers would like to know everything of the company (O’Toole, 2013). Hence, social media is very important and effective in answering the doubts and questions (O’Toole, 2013). Besides, Warby Parker also takes care of the words they used to communicate with the customers (Chafkin, n.d.). The purpose is to make the customers to feel cared and to create a sense of familiarity with the brand (Chafkin, n.d.). Customers can purchase the eyeglasses in store or online (Warby Parker, n.d.). The customers or prospects can choose maximum five frames online (O’Toole, 2013; Warby Parker, n.d). Then, Warby Parker will ship the frames without needing any shipping fees (O’Toole, 2013; Warby Parker, n.d). The customers or prospects will be given five days to try on the frames chosen previously (Warby Parker, n.d). They can seek opinions from their friends and family to find out which frames suit them the best (Warby Parker, n.d). After five days, the frames should be returned to Warby Parker. However, the shipping fee is also free (Warby Parker, n.d). If the customers or prospects are happy about the frames, they can order it online (Willett, 2013). There are different kinds of glasses available (Willett, 2013). The customers or prospects can send the prescription to them or ask Warby Parker to send a doctor for the eyes examinations (Willett, 2013). Without worrying about the payment, it can be settled online (Willett, 2013). According to Willett (2013), the customer was able to get her eyeglasses after one week. 6. Include citation of any other material employed herein in APA referencing format. Burke, K. (2015, April 30). Inside Warby Parker: How Vision, Mission & Culture Helped Build a Billion Dollar Business. [Web log message]. Retrieved from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/warby-parker-business-lessons?utm_campaign=blog- rss-emails&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=17393744 Chafkin, M. (2015). Warby Parker Sees the Future of Retail. Fast company. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/3041334/warby-parker-sees-the-future-of-retail Diebel, M. (2014). Warby Parker: A visionary approach to selling eyewear. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/11/30/warby-parker-selling- stylish-eyewear-cheaper/70060670/ Gleeson, A. (n.d.). Examples of Well-Known Business Models. Retrieved from https://articles.bplans.co.uk/starting-a-business/examples-of-well-known-business- models/1040 Haid, P. (2014, December 19). Warby Parker’s 20/20 vision: Not your traditional philanthropy. Financial Post.

Retrieved from https://business.financialpost.com/entrepreneur/warby-parkers-2020-vision-not-your-traditional-philanthropy Markowitz, E. (2012, March 07). How Warby Parker Grew So Fast: 3 Reasons. Inc. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/eric-markowitz/3-reasons-warby-parker-is-killing-it.html Maus (n.d.). What will e-commerce do for your business? Retrieved from https://www.maus.com.au/about/aboutserver.asp?inA=1&hx=1,26&AID=698&PID=6 O’Toole, M. (2013, July 22). Warby Parker, One Million Eyeglasses, And The Next Generation Of Brands.

. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeotoole/ 2013/07/22/warby-parker-one-million-eyeglasses-and-the-next-generation-of-brands/ Steele, B. (2015, May 1). Warby Parker wants you to use your phone for eye exams (update). [Web log message]. Retrieved from https://www.engadget.com/2015/05/01/warby-parker-eye-exam-app/ Taub, A. (2012, August) Warby Parker: The Human Referral Effect. . Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alextaub/2012/08/02/warby-parker-the-human-referral-effect/ The Muse (2012). Warby Parker: Our Vision [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/39463166 Warby Parker, (n.d.). Home try on. Retrieved from https://www.warbyparker.com/home-try-on Willet, M. (2013). I Just Bought My First Pair Of Warby Parker Glasses — It Was Super Easy And Cheap.

Business Insider. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/buying-glasses-at-warby-parker-2013-3?IR=T&# Willet, M. (2013). [There’s an option to enter your own prescription, but I didn’t know mine, so I told Warby Parker to call my eye doctor]. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/buying-glasses-at-warby-parker-2013-3?IR=T&#theres- an-option-to-enter-your-own-prescription-but-i-didnt-know-mine-so-i-told-warby-parker- to-call-my-eye-doctor-14

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