It’s been the widely acknowledged poster child of the entire direct-to-consumer retail trade — one of the first to launch and then the most aggressive in moving to physical stores which now account for more than half its revenue — so Warby Parker’s announcement earlier this week that has set a goal of 900 physical stores is a potential game changer for every DTC player out there.
With the general acceptance that the online-only retail model pretty much doesn’t work and sellers need to have physical stores, most in the channel have moved in that direction. But none more-so than Warby, the eyewear brand now with 200 stores and plans to open 700 more, in a time frame not specifically nailed down. In going down this retail road the company is on the way to reinventing itself as a vertical brand, from manufacturing to direct selling at a scale no other digitally naive — oops, digitally native — company has attempted before.
Here’s what it could mean for the entire category, especially in the home space: https://businessofhome.com/articles/warby-parker-plans-to-open-900-stores-will-dtc-home-brands-follow
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