State Street’s Warby Parker: Books are a reminder that yes, you need glasses.
It was a good run for optometrists. For years, it was assumed that when you had your eye exam and got a new prescription, you’d walk out to the attached frame shop and buy your glasses. Maybe you’d hit one of those retailers in the mall. It always felt expensive, but what were you going to do — not buy glasses?
Warby Parker popularized a new model of shopping for prescription eyewear, to say nothing of a new price point and a new sense of independence for glasses-wearers. Warby Parker’s direct online retail operation started in 2010. The first retail storefront opened in New York in 2013, and the brand now operates brick-and-mortar shops in 28 states and the District of Columbia.
The chain opened its first Wisconsin store in late September 2017 in Milwaukee’s Third Ward and Madison’s first outlet opened in September 2018 in the former Jamba Juice storefront on State Street. “We’re especially excited about our location on State Street,” says co-founder and co-CEO Dave Gilboa in the company’s press kit. “It’s walkable and welcoming.”
Visitors will find a store with an unmistakable library vibe, and that’s by design. There’s a “Reference Desk” backed by a punchy jungle mural from award-winning British illustrator Leon Edler. And the Warby Parker shopping model has always emphasized figuratively, if not literally, pulling a lot of items off the shelf to try on. Free at-home try-ons have been a Warby Parker staple from the beginning.
Warby Parker’s presence on State Street feeds one of Madison’s most beloved and careworn hobbies: complaining about the chainification of the pedestrian mall. An argument could be made, however, that Warby Parker fits in with Madison’s attitude better than most national companies by virtue of, well, its virtues.
Warby Parker still donates a pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair sold, claiming a distributed total of over 4 million pairs. The company also asserts that it operates on a carbon-neutral basis. And if you really want to get mad at Corporate America, watch the 2012 CBS 60 Minutes segment on the eyewear conglomerate Luxottica. You may be stunned to learn just how many different segments of the eyewear industry are owned by one entity, while Warby Parker remains independent.
The State Street Warby Parker store is open seven days a week. You’ll need to bring in a fresh prescription, as there’s no on-site optometrist, and new single-vision glasses typically take a week to 10 days to arrive at your doorstep. I’ve found the technicians are happy to offer advice and assistance if requested, or just play it cool.
