Founded 15 years ago as a digitally native, direct-to-consumer eyewear retailer, Warby Parker set out to disrupt the $150 billion global optical industry with $95 prescription glasses (and at-home try-ons through the mail). Clearly, they were on to something, as five years later, Fast Company named it the “Most Innovative Company in the World.”

[To listen to the episode on Retail Rx, CLICK HERE.]

Warby Parker went public in 2021 and now has a $2.5 billion market valuation plus a robust omnichannel strategy. It will open its 300th store later this summer and has shop-in-shops planned in Target. It’s also a socially conscious business, and as of June 2025, Warby Parker surpassed 20 million pairs of glasses distributed to those in need through its “buy a pair, give a pair” program. 

In this podcast episode for Retail Rx, Lauren Parker, director of Fairchild Studio, chats with Neil Blumenthal, cofounder and co-chief executive officer of Warby Parker, about the company’s rapid rise, social impact, evolution and those upcoming smart glasses with Google.

“As we think about the journey of Warby Parker, Act One was really about pioneering a tech-enabled lifestyle brand that was online and building those direct relationships with customers,” said Blumenthal. “Act Two was scaling retail, and [today] we have 300 stores, and we’re on a path to 900 plus, we believe. And it was also creating a one-stop-shop for glasses, contacts and eye exams. And as we think about Act Three, it’s really taking that tech-enabled brand and making it an AI-enabled brand.”