A Warby Parker store in Los Angeles.
Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Warby ParkerWarby Parker, the trendy eyewear brand, has confidentially filed to go public.
The New York-based start-up said Tuesday it had submitted its paperwork to the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public listing. The offering is expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process, a statement said.
Warby Parker is considering going public using a direct listing as well as an IPO, a person familiar with the situation said. The company has raised $535.5 million in funding. This includes a $245 million round in August that valued it at $3 billion.
Founded in 2010 by four students at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Warby Parker started out by selling prescription glasses online. In 2013, it began opening physical stores and now has more than 135 locations where consumers can try on glasses.
In addition to prescription eyewear, the company sells contact lenses, children’s frames, and sunglasses. It also offers eye exams at some locations. Warby Parker currently lets users try on five frames at home for free. Once they pick the pair they want, the customer sends all five back. Prescription glasses start at $95 a pair with free shipping and free returns.
If it chooses a direct listing, Warby Parker would be the fifth company this year to go public that way. Companies that choose a direct listing typically don’t raise fresh capital. Instead, the technique is mainly a way for existing stockholders to sell their shares. This compares to a traditional IPO, which is mainly used by businesses to raise money as well as ignite interest among investors and Wall Street analysts. Roblox (ticker: RBLX), Coinbase Global (COIN), Squarespace (SQSP), and ZipRecruiter (ZIP) have each used a direct listing to go public in 2021.
Write to Luisa Beltran at luisa.beltran@dowjones.com
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Warby Parker Considers a Direct Listing - Barron's
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