AAA Warby Parker sees unicorn status after $100m round

Warby Parker sees unicorn status after $100m round

Warby Parker, a US-based eyewear retailer backed by payment services provider American Express, has secured $100m in a series D round led by T. Rowe Price, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

The round, which valued Warby Parker at $1.2bn according to a person familiar with the company’s finances, also included Wellington Management, Tiger Global Management and General Catalyst Partners.

Founded in 2010, Warby Parker began selling eyewear online, cutting out additional middlemen between suppliers and customers, which enabled it to offer designer brand frames for relatively low prices. It began expanding its business into brick-and-mortar outlets in 2013.

Warby Parker has now opened 12 stores across nine US cities, and they account for around half of its 500-strong workforce. The goal is to not only expand the company’s reach, but also to raise awareness of its brand, which in turn brings more customers to its online site.

The funding will fuel an expansion of its stores from 12 to 20 by the end of 2015, and will support the development and introduction of new technological features such as eye tests that can be conducted with smartphones.

Warby Parker has now raised approximately $215m in funding altogether, $41.5m of which came from a 2013 series B round featuring Amex, General Catalyst, Tiger Global, Spark Capital, Thrive Capital, Menlo Ventures and Millard S. Drexler, the CEO of fashion brand J Crew.

Other past investors in the company include Lerer Ventures, First Round Capital and SV Angel.

– Photo courtesy of Warby Parker

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