That may be a great deal for the industry but its

terrible for the consumer. Glasses simply shouldn’t cost that much.”
THE ISSUE: A MONOPOLIZED INDUSTRY

10/20/2017 How Warby Parker Disrupted A $140B Industry | Disruption
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“It's terrible for the consumer. Glasses simply shouldn't
cost that much.”
WHEN ITS FOUNDERS
dreamt of Warby Parker back in that b-school computer lab, they
knew: In order to cut prices, they would need to cut costs. Everywhere.
“So, we started looking at the frames we loved — really digging into the cost of the materials
and the process of making them,” he recalls. “And we realized we could dramatically bring

10/20/2017 How Warby Parker Disrupted A $140B Industry | Disruption
To avoid markups, Warby Parker designs product in-house. They sell directly to consumers
via their website and stores. And least sexily, but most importantly, they order their own
materials (like acetate) from Italy and then manufacture frames at the same Chinese
factories as their high-end competitors. They trimmed all the fat.
“We built an independent, vertically-integrated brand that avoids unnecessary markups.
Basically, we do everything ourselves,” Gilboa says.
This disruptive process enables Warby Parker to keep prices low, selling lensed glasses for
less than $100. (Some frames and options like thinner lenses cost more.)