Zenni Optical

Last updated

Zenni Optical
Formerly19dollareyeglasses.com
Company type Private
Industry Online shopping
Founded2003;21 years ago (2003) in California
Founders
  • Tibor Láczay
  • Julia Zhen
Headquarters
Novato, California
,
United States
Key people
  • Julia Zhen (CEO)
  • David Ting (CTO)
Products
Website www.zennioptical.com

Zenni Optical (formerly 19dollareyeglasses.com) is an American online retailer of prescription glasses and sunglasses. Founded in 2003 by Tibor Laczay and Julia Zhen, it is based in Novato, California.

Contents

The company sells more than 2,000 types of prescription glasses and sunglasses as well as 45 types of contact lenses. Zenni created theme glasses through collaborations with professional gamers, sportspeople, the designer Iris Apfel and the actress Rashida Jones. It is able to keep costs low by selling its own brand of frames instead of name brands, manufacturing frames in China in a Danyang, factory, and not offering customer support. Reviewers praised Zenni for its low prices, diversity of options, and having sturdy glasses for children. After trying Zenni glasses, Los Angeles Times consumer columnist David Lazarus found the "overall quality was pretty good" but his frames did not fit well and needed to be adjusted by an optician, while Reviewed 's Madison Durham said the glasses' prescription did not match the standard of competitors'. Reviewers found Zenni's return policy to be inferior compared to competitors.

History

Zenni Optical mail order Zenni Optical mail order.jpg
Zenni Optical mail order

Zenni Optical was founded in 2003 by Tibor Laczay and Julia Zhen. [1] [2] Before being renamed to Zenni Optical when it began offering $7 and $8 glasses, the company was named 19dollareyeglasses.com. [3] [4] [5] Around 2014, co-founder Zhen acquired the building occupied by the Marin Independent Journal to house Zenni. [6] The company is based in Novato, California, where it employed 100 people in 2020. [7] It has 1,000 employees at its 248,000-square-foot Chinese factory in Danyang, Jiangsu. [7] [8] The company operates a California warehouse to support West Coast orders. In 2020, it purchased a building in Obetz, Ohio, to act as a lab that molded lenses for frames employed nearly 100 people there by the end of 2022. The Ohio facility is twice as large as the California one. [9] In 2022, robots took the place of some workers at Zenni's Novato facility. The robots checked a glasses' color and shape to confirm it is assigned to the right customer's bag. [10] [11]

At the beginning of the 2018–19 NBA season, Zenni's name started being featured on the left side of the Chicago Bulls jersey. The company inked an agreement with the NBA team that lasted five years, allowing it to become the first brand featured on the Bulls' jersey patch. [2] Bulls team members Ryan Arcidiacono, Wendell Carter Jr., and Zach LaVine became Zenni ambassadors. [12] The company released an ad during Super Bowl LIV in February 2020 that featured George Kittle, a San Francisco 49ers tight end. [7] A number of customers who visited their website after seeing the commercial encountered a message that eyeglasses deliveries would be delayed for between three and four weeks owing to the government's required suspension of factory work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China. [7]

In 2013, Zenni had average daily sales of 3,500 glasses, which the San Francisco Chronicle said made it "one of the largest online purveyors of eyewear in the world". [13] In 2019, the company sold almost six million glasses that year. [14] Zenni had $390 million in revenue in 2021 and in 2022 had sold 45 million glasses starting from its founding. [9] [15]

Website and products

Zenni Optical glasses.jpg
Liz Gorinsky.jpg
Two individuals wearing Zenni Optical eyeglasses

The company sells glasses and sunglasses on the Internet only. [16] [17] It sells 2,300 frames and supports progressive lens and bifocals. [17] Zenni began selling contact lenses in 2024, offering 45 types at launch. [18] It is able to keep costs down compared to glasses specialty stores by offering brands they have created instead of name brands. [19] The company's designers create every glasses frame sold on its website. The designers work with professional gamers and people in sports halls of fame to create themed glasses. Customers can add a tailor-made etching to the glasses' arm. [20] The company offers prescription safety glasses marketed for people studying science and collaborated with Rashida Jones for a line she organizes. [21] It has a four-year contract with the designer Iris Apfel to create a line of glasses. [22] Zenni offers a collection of glasses constructed entirely from recycled plastic. [20] It distributes some money made from sales of that collection, "ReMakes by Zenni", to One Percent for the Planet and the Wyland Foundation, two non-profit organizations focused on the environment. [20]

The company's blog features listicles and articles that discuss their products, arranging them by popular-culture occurrences and various subject matter such as Harry Potter houses and the zodiac. [21] The website allows users to select frames by size, shape, color, and material. [23] Zenni tracks their users' frame choices in an Oracle database to give the company a better idea of the inventory it needs to maintain. [24] It provides a widget that allows customers to do an online fitting of eyeglass frames. [16] The first option is Zenni Frame Fit. [20] After transferring their photo to the website, a user can put a frame on their face. [25] The second option is 3D Try-On in which users generate a 3-D rendering of their face, giving them the opportunity to observe their glasses-adorned face from different perspectives. [20] Writing in Reviewed , Madison Durham said the Try-On "works, but ultimately wasn't as comprehensive or workable as others we've tried". [21]

To order glasses, customers need to provide their eyeglass prescription and a measurement of their pupillary distance (PD). [25] Zenni has a web page that supports measuring the PD. [19] Columnist Mary Hunt praised Zenni for offering "the absolute cheapest prices on plastic frames" and said it has "a wide range of frame styles and lens options". [16] All glasses delivered to customers are accompanied by a glasses holder and a cloth for cleaning. [21] [26] The company's products have a warranty of 30 days in which they can receive either a 100% credit to be used to purchase other products or 50% of their money back. [16] [27] The health website Everyday Health said "the return policy for Zenni orders isn't as competitive as other retailers' return policies" and Wirecutter said the retailer has "an inferior return policy". [20] [28] Authors Daniel Padgett and Andrew Loos said that Zenni competitor Warby Parker allows customers to ship and return products without charge whereas Zenni is "less lenient". [29]

Reception

Columnist Mary Hunt said in 2022 that "while in the past Zenni has fallen short for its customer service, the company has really stepped it up in recent years". [16] On a report for purchasing glasses, the consumer organization Consumer Reports placed Zenni in the third position behind Costco's Costco Optical and Warby Parker. [16] Kiplinger's Personal Finance 's Ryan Wilk in 2009 called Zenni's website "usable but [a] downright eyesore". Wilk purchased glasses from Zenni and compared them to those he could have gotten from Oliver Peoples which would have cost several hundred more. He said, "My pair was not as sturdy as the Peoples pair, but they looked just as sharp, and I could see just fine." [30] According to the Wirecutter , "Despite Zenni's ultra-low prices, we found that it surpassed our expectations, sometimes impressively so." [28]

Reviewed 's Madison Durham criticized Zenni for being "a bit low on amenities" when contrasted with competitors and said glasses for competitors had a better prescription standard compared to the glasses she received from Zenni. She praised it for having "awesome product lines available for kids and teens". She said the teen glasses frames "managed to be trendy without trying too hard" and lauded how the kids' products were very sturdy glasses "that's designed to move as they move and stand up to play". [21] StyleCaster's Kristen Bousquet wrote, "Does a lower price point mean lower quality? And with Zenni, it actually didn't. I was genuinely surprised to find that Zenni's frames held up to my day-to-day manhandling as well as the other frames I tested for this piece." [31] Popular Mechanics 's Eleanor Hildebrandt said that the outlet is a good option for people who frequently damage their glasses. [23]

Clark Howard said Zenni eyeglasses have such low prices for two reasons: Zenni manufactures them in China and once the glasses are sold, there is no customer service. He said the latter reason has "led some of my listeners to become disenchanted with Zenni" though he said he did not have issues through several purchases through Zenni." [32] Los Angeles Times consumer columnist David Lazarus wrote in 2019 of Zenni, "The more you rely on complex lenses, premium coatings and prisms, the more of a risk you'll face that things might not work out." He noted that the company was unable to support his prescription that required both prism correction and progressive lens so he had to purchase two glasses. After receiving the glasses, Lazarus found that the frames "had looked pretty cool online [but] appeared a bit cheaper in person". He found that the "overall quality was pretty good" even though he had to ask his optician to alter the frames since they had trouble fitting properly. [33]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corrective lens</span> Type of lens to improve visual perception

A corrective lens is a transmissive optical device that is worn on the eye to improve visual perception. The most common use is to treat refractive errors: myopia, hypermetropia, astigmatism, and presbyopia. Glasses or "spectacles" are worn on the face a short distance in front of the eye. Contact lenses are worn directly on the surface of the eye. Intraocular lenses are surgically implanted most commonly after cataract removal but can be used for purely refractive purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasses</span> Form of vision aid

Glasses, also known as eyeglasses and spectacles, are vision eyewear with clear or tinted lenses mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms, known as temples or temple pieces, that rest over the ears.

Luxottica Group S.p.A. is an Italian eyewear multinational corporation headquartered in Milan. As a vertically integrated company, Luxottica designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails its eyewear brands through its own subsidiaries. It is the largest eyewear company in the world. It is, since October 2018, a subsidiary of EssilorLuxottica, which arose out of a merger between the Italian company and the French ophthalmic optics corporation Essilor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray-Ban</span> Eyewear company owned by EssilorLuxottica

Ray-Ban is a brand of luxury sunglasses and eyeglasses created in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb. The brand is best known for its Wayfarer and Aviator lines of sunglasses. In 1999, Bausch & Lomb sold the brand to Italian eyewear conglomerate Luxottica Group for a reported $640 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LensCrafters</span> American optician and eyewear retail chain

LensCrafters is an international retailer of prescription eyewear and prescription sunglasses. Its stores usually host independent optometrists on-site or in an adjacent store. The company has its corporate headquarters in Mason, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optician</span> Profession that makes or fits eyeglasses

An optician is an individual who fits eyeglasses or contact lenses by filling a refractive prescription from an optometrist or ophthalmologist. They are able to translate and adapt ophthalmic prescriptions, dispense products, and work with accessories. There are several specialties within the field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horn-rimmed glasses</span> Type of eyeglasses

Horn-rimmed glasses are a type of eyeglasses. Originally made out of either horn or tortoise shell, for most of their history they have actually been constructed out of thick plastics designed to imitate those materials. They are characterized by their bold appearance on the wearer's face, in contrast to metal frames, which appear less pronounced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Jacob Bausch</span> American optician and businessman

John Jacob Bausch was a German-American maker of optical instruments who co-founded Bausch & Lomb. Over six decades he transformed his small, local optical shop into a large-scale international enterprise, pioneering the American optical industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essilor</span> French-based optics company

Essilor International is a French multinational corporation specialized in the design, manufacture and sale of ophthalmic lenses, optical equipment and instruments. It is the world's largest manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses. Founded in 1972 out of the merger of two French companies operating in the sector, Essel and Silor, it is headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, near Paris. It is, since October 2018, a subsidiary of EssilorLuxottica which arose out of a merger between Essilor and the Italian eyewear corporation Luxottica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyewear</span> Items and accessories worn on or over the eyes

Eyewear is a term used to refer to all devices worn over both of a person's eyes, or occasionally a single eye, for one or more of a variety of purposes. Though historically used for vision improvement and correction, eyewear has also evolved into eye protection, for fashion and aesthetic purposes, and starting in the late 20th century, computers and virtual reality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Browline glasses</span> Style of eyeglass frames

Browline glasses are a style of eyeglass frames where the "bold" upper part holding the lenses resembles eyebrows framing the eyes. They were very popular during the 1950s and 1960s, especially in the US. The glasses were first manufactured by Shuron Ltd in 1947 under the "Ronsir" brand, and quickly emulated by various other manufacturers. The design became the most common style of eyeglasses throughout the 1950s and the early 1960s before it was surpassed in popularity by solid plastic styles. Browlines enjoyed a renaissance as sunglasses in the 1980s before returning to popularity in the 2010s, with the rise of retro style and the hipster subculture.

Adjustable focus eyeglasses are eyeglasses with an adjustable focal length. They compensate for refractive errors by providing variable focusing, allowing users to adjust them for desired distance or prescription, or both.

New Eyes for the Needy is a non-profit organization started in 1932 as New Eyes and based in Short Hills, New Jersey, which provides people in the United States with eyeglasses and sends recycled eyeglasses to needy people overseas.

Cohen's Fashion Optical is an optical retailer headquartered in New York City featuring fashion products such as eyeglasses, frames and sunglasses, lenses, contact lenses, and accessories. Professional eye exams are usually available with on-site Doctors of Optometry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rimless eyeglasses</span> Type of eyeglasses

Rimless eyeglasses are a type of eyeglasses in which the lenses are mounted directly to the bridge or temples. The style is divided into two subtypes: three-piece glasses are composed of lenses mounted to a bridge and two separate temple arms, while rimways feature a supporting arch that connects the temples to the bridge and provides extra stability for the lenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warby Parker</span> American eyeglasses and contact lens retailer

Warby Parker Inc. is an American manufacturer and retailer of prescription glasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses, based in New York City. Founded in 2010, it was initially an online-only retailer. It now receives about 90% of its revenue from its 237 physical retail stores, 232 of which are in the U.S. and 5 of which are in Canada. It also offers eye exams. The company has 2.28 million customers, with an average order value of $263. The company's goal is to operate 900 stores.

Eyebuydirect, Inc. is an online retailer of prescription glasses, based in Austin, Texas. Eyebuydirect also sells prescription and non-prescription sunglasses, sport sunglasses, and computer glasses designed to reduce glare.

Frames Direct is an international online eyewear retailer owned by EssilorLuxottica. The company sells eyewear products such as eyeglasses, prescription sunglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses through its website, https://www.framesdirect.com. Frames Direct sells designer and brand-name eyewear products with over 50,000 models. Founded in 1996, Frames Direct was one of the earliest online optical retail stores and the first to sell prescription sunglasses online.

GlassesUSA.com is an online retailer of prescription eyewear. It was founded in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clearly</span> Canadian online/offline retailer of eyeglasses owned by EssilorLuxottica

Clearly is an online retailer of contact lenses, eyeglasses and sunglasses headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company, founded in 2000, is a subsidiary of the French lens manufacturer Essilor, which acquired it in 2014. Essilor merged with Luxottica in 2018 to form EssilorLuxottica, thus making Clearly a subsidiary of the new entity. Clearly is one of the largest online contact lens retailers in North America, and the largest seller of prescription eyeglasses online in the world.

References

  1. ↑ Ingrassia, Lawrence (2020). Billion Dollar Brand Club: How Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, and Other Disruptors Are Remaking What We Buy. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN   978-1-250-31306-5. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023– via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 Cowley, Joe (October 16, 2018). "Bulls name franchise's first jersey patch sponsor". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  3. ↑ Darlin, Damon (May 5, 2007). "Do-It-Yourself Eyeglass Shopping on the Internet". The New York Times . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  4. ↑ Manjoo, Farhad (August 27, 2008). "How To Get an Unbelievable, Amazing, Fantastic, Thrilling Deal on New Glasses". Slate . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  5. ↑ Lehrer, Eli (February 8, 2016). "A Cost Curve That Bent Way Down". The Weekly Standard . Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  6. ↑ Bowles, Nellie (August 5, 2014). "Summertime Silicon Valley Is Party Town for Chinese Investors". Vox . Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Narayan, Shwanika (February 7, 2020). "From eyeglasses to backpacks, Bay Area firms scramble as coronavirus closes Chinese factories". San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  8. ↑ Parker, Odessa Paloma; Maddeaux, Sabrina (June 21, 2016). "Vision Quest". The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Ghose, Carrie (November 1, 2022). "California startup Zenni grows U.S. manufacturing hub in Central Ohio's 'optical village'". Columbus Business First . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  10. ↑ Nichols, Greg (June 24, 2022). "No really, robots are about to take A LOT of jobs". ZDNET. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  11. ↑ "It's past time to prepare for a future where the workforce has as many robots as people. Editorial". The Philadelphia Inquirer . September 4, 2022. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  12. ↑ Baxley, Rodd (September 26, 2020). "Former UNC star, Chicago Bulls guard Coby White 'will always show love' to North Carolina". The Fayetteville Observer . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  13. ↑ McDowell, Maghan (October 24, 2013). "New passes at glasses — fashion in a blink". San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  14. ↑ Lundstrom, Kathryn (June 22, 2020). "DTC Glasses Double Down Online". Adweek . Vol. 61, no. 14. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023– via Gale.
  15. ↑ Reynolds, Matt (June 27, 2022). "D2C Zenni Optical Eyes Robotic Order Fulfillment Automation". Packaging World. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hunt, Mary (June 22, 2022). "Everyday Cheapskate: Best places to buy eyeglasses without breaking the bank". The Post-Standard . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  17. 1 2 Cox, Dallas (January 24, 2023). "Zenni Optical Review: 6 Things To Know Before Your First Order". Clark Howard. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  18. ↑ Kagan, Isabelle (June 11, 2024). "Zenni Now Sells Contacts—Get 20% off Your First Order". Reviewed . Archived from the original on July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  19. 1 2 Schencker, Lisa (November 10, 2018). "Buying glasses online? Prices are low, but optometrists are wary". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ling, Vanessa (January 23, 2023). "Zenni Optical Review: Affordable Custom Styles". Everyday Health. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 Durham, Madison (January 14, 2021). "Zenni Sells Glasses As Low as $7—But Are They Any Good?". Reviewed . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  22. ↑ Kapner, Suzanne (August 21, 2021). "Iris Apfel Is Almost 100, and as Busy as Ever. Known for her signature glasses, the 'geriatric starlet' has her own eyewear line. 'I'm told that the sunsets from 100 stories up are spectacular.'". The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  23. 1 2 Hildebrandt, Eleanor (April 20, 2020). "The Best Places to Buy Glasses Online in 2020". Popular Mechanics . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  24. ↑ Horowitz, Brian T. (November 21, 2018). "Internet Eye Tests: Will You Really Buy Your Next Prescription Online?". PCMag . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  25. 1 2 Hunt, Mary (October 28, 2014). "Everyday Cheapskate: How to save a bundle on prescription eyeglasses". Daily Journal . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  26. ↑ Munro, Daphne (September 13, 2013). "Save money on prescription eyeglasses with Zennioptical.com". KNXV-TV. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  27. ↑ Giorgianni, Anthony (December 29, 2016). "How to Avoid Being Gouged When Buying Eyeglasses". Consumer Reports. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  28. 1 2 Redd, Nancy (December 2, 2022). "The Best Places to Buy Glasses Online". Wirecutter . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  29. ↑ Padgett, Daniel; Loos, Andrew (2021) [2019]. Applied Marketing. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. p. 17. ISBN   978-1-119-69056-6. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023– via Google Books.
  30. ↑ Wilk, Ryan (January 26, 2009). "Buying glasses online offers clear savings". Kiplinger's Personal Finance . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023– via Daily Herald.
  31. ↑ Bousquet, Kristen (March 31, 2019). "One Writer's Quest to Find the Best Place to Buy Glasses Online". StyleCaster . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  32. ↑ Howard, Clark; Meltzer, Mark; Thimou, Theo (2011). Clark Howard's Living Large in Lean Times: 250+ Ways to Buy Smarter, Spend Smarter, and Save Money. New York: Avery Publishing. pp. 16–17. ISBN   978-1-58333-433-1. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  33. ↑ Lazarus, David (February 12, 2019). "Column: Buying glasses online can save you a lot of money. Here's how to do it". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.