Warby Parker – Case Analysis

 Warby Parker – Case Analysis

 

Introduction

Two years after their graduation in 2010, David Gilboa, Neil Blumenthal, Andrew Hund and Jeffrey Raider founded an American online eyeglass producer and retailer called Warby Parker (WP) with a mission of combining social and business goals. The business was created as an alternative to major eyewear brands with an expensive product price line. The business is today one of the most successful examples of an E-commerce company and a modern example of a business that proves that understanding consumer preferences and cultivating relationships by listening and appealing to special consumer interest is critical in building brand equity and affiliation. The organization responded with a real solutions for real people by providing a better approach that delivers more value for less by reducing prescription eyewear prices without compromising quality.

 

Problem Analysis

With the existence of big players such as Luxottica, which are manufacturing glasses for big brands like Ralph Lauren, Chanel, and Prada, WP started to order from manufacturers and sell straight online to consumers. Warby Parkers vision was to bypass this huge companies and provide high quality products with reasonable prices to their consumers. In this way there is no need of a retailer or another middleman between Warby Parker and has created their business due to the real need of lower income people and students to obtain a high quality eyewear, therefore they have chosen an innovative way to sell their product direct to customers online with lower price. Warby Parker’s strategy is to eliminate other parties’ involvement which leads to additional costs and unnecessarily expenses. Additionally, Warby Parker strategically inculcated a social cause as part of its overall business plan, which helped built a community of loyal consumers around its brand. Through the “Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program”, the company affirms it has distributed millions pairs of glasses to those in need in many countries worldwide.

 

Recommendations

Warby Parker should continue to arm itself with a desire to provide more eyeglasses accessories such as chains or hooks at an affordable price.  Although financially stable, I will strongly recommend Warby Parker to focus on new attractive target market such as schools and universities in developing a mobile app for college students’ eye exam which will capture data and process relevant advice on the correct product to supply. In order to become a leading eyewear online business, Warby Parker need to improve its online virtual customer service for online queries and purchases.

  

            Personal Application

Through its innovation and consumer satisfaction, Warby Parker has disrupted the eyewear industry both online and offline. The ability to lower prescription eyewear prices without compromising quality was significant to its overall growth. Their Social media and e-commerce platform proves their flexibility to adjust according to the market trends and prioritize consumer satisfaction. They took the practical real world to design their products, which met customer’s real need.