The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
The eyewear maker on Tuesday reported a 10 percent increase in revenue to $147 million in the final quarter of 2022, coming in above company and analysts’ estimates.
Warby Parker also narrowed its net losses during the quarter to $20 million from $46 million a year earlier, as it reduced its marketing spend by 41 percent in the face of still-high costs to acquire customers online. The brand’s customer acquisition costs dropped by around 36 percent year-over-year in the second half of 2022.
The company said its store expansion has been driving new customer growth. Warby Parker opened 10 stores in the final quarter of the year, bringing its total brick-and-mortar count to 200.
Warby Parker reported a more than $60 million reduction in losses in the third quarter of 2022 and saw its stock soar more than 20 percent. The company’s share price rose around 1 percent following its fourth quarter earnings release.
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Why Warby Parker’s Stock Soared This Week, and Allbirds’ Sank
The diverging paths for the two trailblazing direct-to-consumer brands is the latest indication that investors now value a clear path to profitability over growth.
Apparel start-ups founded on the promise of offering men the perfect T-shirt are proving resilient in an otherwise dreary DTC sector rampant with fire sales, bankruptcies and steep revenue declines.
Apparel brands Knot Standard and Billy Reid are teaming up in a move investors say we may see more of as fashion start-ups seek alternative funding routes to grow their businesses.
Warby Parker, Everlane and other brands are partnering with small, but buzzy fashion labels as an inexpensive way to find new customers, and regain some status with shoppers who have moved on.
The embattled athleisure brand has mounting cash problems, Sourcing Journal says.