By Haley Zimmerman

Many things have gotten pricier in the past 15 years. Not Warby Parker's most affordable glasses, which have cost $95 since the brand's inception in 2010.

Warby Parker's strategy breaks from other buzzy brands that adopted the eyewear company's model during the 2010s-era direct-to-consumer boom, like mattress maker Casper and Naadam, which sells cashmere sweaters. Marketing for Naadam's basic sweater once prominently featured its $75 price; now the same crew neck retails for $98. A twin mattress at Casper cost $500 in 2014 and now starts at $749.

Trump's trade offensive is now putting Warby Parker's price strategy to one of its biggest tests yet. The company, which plans to keep its $95 option intact, is betting it can help mitigate rising costs with recent increases on its more expensive frames and lenses and by catering to older consumers who need pricier progressive lenses.

That is a departure from other eyewear brands, which have raised prices on their base offerings as tariffs, inflation and rising optometrist salaries push their own costs higher. "Seventeen years for one price is a long time," the chief executive of competitor National Vision told investors after the brand increased the price of its flagship 2-for-1 deal by $10 to $79.95 in 2022. It raised the price this year again, to $89.95.

Warby Parker's control over much of its supply and sales channels -- it owns two optical labs in the U.S. and operates its own stores and online distribution -- have helped it avoid some tariff costs, said Co-Chief Executive Neil Blumenthal.

And Warby is shifting production away from China, where it makes some of its frames. At the beginning of 2025, 20% of Warby Parker's cost of goods sold originated in China -- a figure it said it aims to bring under 15% by the end of the year.

Warby Parker's second-quarter revenue climbed 14% to $214.5 million from a year earlier, the company reported Thursday. It said "tariff-related headwinds" contributed to a drop in its quarterly adjusted gross margin, to 54.3% from 56.1% a year ago.

On its website, about 60% of the 296 eyeglasses currently available still cost $95 with basic prescription lenses. Yet the company's average revenue per customer has increased every year since the company went public in 2021.

That is because plenty of Warby shoppers buy at higher price points for both medical and style reasons, Blumenthal said.

Warby announced a one-time price bump on some of its more expensive offerings in April. In recent years, the company has also introduced higher-grade progressive lenses, as well as new styles and add-ons -- like clip-on sunglasses that attach to some of its most popular frames

Alana Meraz, 28 years old, bought her first pair of Warby Parker glasses -- Montague frames with blue light-filtering lenses for $195 -- a few weeks ago. "I was leading more with style and look than I was with price, " Meraz said. Still, "I was definitely pleasantly surprised by the price."

Warby's long-held strategy is to remain under the price umbrella of its competitors. This year, it told investors that the markups of name-brand competitors were so large that Warby had room to raise some prices while remaining more affordable.

Would Warby ever budge from $95? Blumenthal won't say never.

"We may have to increase that price at some point, but we're going to do everything possible for as long as possible to not," he said.

Write to Haley Zimmerman at haley.zimmerman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 10, 2025 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT)

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