1 McGee Bosworth Professor Videan ADV 206: Final Paper 11 December 2017 Warby Parker: Good Eyewear, Good Outcome Part 1: An Audit of the Industry: Eyewear is a big business. Everywhere around you, people are opting for stylish frames rather than contact lenses. It has been estimated that by 2020, eyewear will be an $140 billion global market (Mellery-Pratt). Luxury eyewear companies, like Luxottica and the Safilo Group, are capitalizing on the growing interest in eyewear and spreading their presence into more in-demand markets all across the world. Chief executive of the Safilo Group, Luisa Delgado, stated, “on one side, it’s driven by demographics: the development of certain markets where an increasing middle class is getting access to interesting brands. But then there’s also education, an ageing population: it [all] stimulates the growth of our industry…” (Mellery-Pratt). These increases, in available education and an ageing population, have spurred the overall demand for prescription glasses; and, companies are acting on this interest (Mellery-Pratt). However, not all people can afford the lofty price tag that often comes along with luxury brand names; but, “the eyewear industry is brand-driven, with consumers preferring branded products even though they are more expensive than a non-branded alternative” (euromonitor.com). Optical retailers like Specsavers in the United Kingdom and LensCrafters in the United States have taken advantage of this increased desire for price-friendly brand-name frames with a heavy focus on promotional advertising. Specsavers and LensCrafters revolutionized the eyewear-purchasing process by bringing everything in-store. From optical exams to frame selection and production, as well as glasses fittings, these retailers simplified the purchasing process for customers. Customers already benefitted from the ease-of-purchase with companies such as Specsavers and LensCrafters, but they increased their attraction even more with a focus on promotional advertisements. The eyewear industry is extremely brand-driven; so both Specsavers and LensCrafters provided customers with an opportunity to purchase those name-brand frames without breaking the bank. Both retailers, Specsavers and LensCrafters, respectively, have designated tabs on their websites exclusively for offers and savings, as seen in Figures 1, 2, and 3.
Figure 1 Image Credit: specsavers.co.uk