The direct-to-consumer eyewear brand plans to open 40 new stores this year, for a total of approximately 240 locations.
It opened six stores during the first quarter, including its 13th location in New York City, on the Upper West of Manhattan, directly across from the Museum of National History, and ended the quarter with 204 locations.
On the company’s earnings call, executives said they continue to see a long runway for growth for Warby within the $76bn vision care market. Looking long-term Co-Founder and Co-CEO Dave Gilboa told analysts that “we believe can open 900-plus stores in the US, a significant opportunity for further penetration of new and existing markets for years to come while still representing a small fraction of the 48,000 optical shops in the U.S”.
Among other benefits, stores act as an accelerator of progressives sales, Gilboa noted. “As our store footprint has expanded, so have progressives,” he said. “Progressives penetration was up 210 basis points year over year to 22.9 per cent of prescription eyeglass units in Q1.”
