WEBVTT - Warby Parker's Blumenthal: Bricks and Clicks Go Together(Audio)

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<v Speaker 1>Burg to Washington, d C. Bloomber to Boston, Bloomberg twelve

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<v Speaker 1>hundred to San Francisco, Bloomberg nine to the country, Julius

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<v Speaker 1>General one and around the globe the Bloomberg Radio plus

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<v Speaker 1>NAPP and Bloomberg Dot Gone. This is taking Stock, coming

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<v Speaker 1>up on taking Stock. We're gonna find out how a

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<v Speaker 1>pair of lost glasses led to the creation of a

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<v Speaker 1>new global business. That's all coming up on taking Stock.

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<v Speaker 1>You're at Pershing Inside conference at the Highatt Regency in Orlando, Florida.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not gonna say anything more about our next guest,

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<v Speaker 1>this mry guest Pim, except that he's gonna got a

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<v Speaker 1>panel that you're moderating this afternoon. Lucky you. Let's get

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<v Speaker 1>back to Bloomberg World headquarters in New York City. Charlie

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<v Speaker 1>Pellets back with the Bloomberg Business Flash, and I thank

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<v Speaker 1>you very much. Kathleen, thank you, Pim Fox, the DAL,

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<v Speaker 1>the SMP, NEZ stack all advancing twenty nine minutes to

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<v Speaker 1>go ahead of the clothes. On this Wednesday, June eight,

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<v Speaker 1>test and P five hundred index edging toward a record

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<v Speaker 1>advances in government bonds, pushing some yields to record lows.

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<v Speaker 1>Right now, we have got the tenure one point seven percent,

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<v Speaker 1>the tenure up five thirty seconds s and P five

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<v Speaker 1>hundred index advancing six points to eighteen again today of

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<v Speaker 1>three tenths of one percent down, Industrials up sixty again

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<v Speaker 1>also of three tenths of one percent, and as a

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<v Speaker 1>stack up thirteen again, also of three tents of one percent.

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<v Speaker 1>Gold up sixteen sixty the ounce to twelve sixty three.

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<v Speaker 1>That's an advance of one point three percent. Crude oil

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<v Speaker 1>holding above fifty one dollars of our all fifty one

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen on West Texas INTERVIEWEDI A crude up seventy nine

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<v Speaker 1>cents again there of one point six percent. Brexit very

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<v Speaker 1>much on the minds of investors on both sides of

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<v Speaker 1>the Atlantic. Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is warning

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<v Speaker 1>of a serious economic shock if the UK votes to

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<v Speaker 1>lead the European Union. He spoke this morning with Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>Television and Radio. I do believe there'll be a big

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<v Speaker 1>turn out for this. I mean, I think people do

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<v Speaker 1>understand it's ation with seismic consequences, particularly economic consequences, and

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<v Speaker 1>I I can't believe that people will We'll shuffle this

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<v Speaker 1>one off, and I think I think we will get

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<v Speaker 1>a substantially higher turn out than in a general lation.

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<v Speaker 1>Lulu Lemon Athletic up hosting first quarter sales that topped

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<v Speaker 1>analysts estimates, help by new products like an expanded selection

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<v Speaker 1>of women's tops. Lulu Lemon shares. They're up now by

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<v Speaker 1>five percent, up three forty one, seventy one fifty five

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<v Speaker 1>on Lulu down Industrials advancing sixty one points, up three

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<v Speaker 1>tenths of one per said SMP. Also hire now by

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<v Speaker 1>three tenths of one percent, three thirty two on Wall Street. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>let's take a look at other news from around the

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<v Speaker 1>world on Bloomberg Radio. Charlie, thank you from the Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>news Room. I'm Mark Crimpton. This news update is brought

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<v Speaker 1>to you by the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the most awarded

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<v Speaker 1>suv ever. The Grand Cherokee continues to raise the bar

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<v Speaker 1>with its luxurious interior and legendary four by for capability.

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<v Speaker 1>Drive one at your local Jeep dealer today. Although Bernie

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<v Speaker 1>Sanders promises to continue his campaign to the last primary

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<v Speaker 1>in the district of Columbia next week, he'll be doing

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<v Speaker 1>so with less manpower to people familiar with the plans

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<v Speaker 1>tell the Associated Press that about half of Sanders campaign

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<v Speaker 1>staff is being laid off. Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary

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<v Speaker 1>Johnson is inviting those voters disappointed with either Donald Trump

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<v Speaker 1>or Hillary Clinton to take a look at his party's ticket.

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<v Speaker 1>I offer, along with Bill Well, the real alternative to

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<v Speaker 1>the two being fiscally conservative look Smaller government is better.

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<v Speaker 1>India and the United States are reaffirming their commitment to

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<v Speaker 1>one another. Indian Prime Minister Norendre Mothi addressed a joint

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<v Speaker 1>meeting of Congress today. In this exciting journey, the US

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<v Speaker 1>Congress and acted and if compos you have help us

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<v Speaker 1>done Bertier into vivid part mercy. In Israel, nine people

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<v Speaker 1>who have been wounded in a shooting at a Tel

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<v Speaker 1>Aviv market. The Associated Press reports as suspects been arrested.

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<v Speaker 1>New York State officials have no plans to fix an

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<v Speaker 1>error in the name of the Verrizonto Narrows Bridge. It's

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<v Speaker 1>been spelled for more than five decades with one Z

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<v Speaker 1>Global News twenty four hours a day, powered by our

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<v Speaker 1>two hundred journalists and more than one hundred fifty news

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<v Speaker 1>bureaus around the world. From the Bloomberg News Room by

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<v Speaker 1>Mark Crumpton. Charlie, and we thank you and again recapping

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<v Speaker 1>stocks higher SMP up five a gain of three tenths

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<v Speaker 1>of one percent. We are brought to you by Sector

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<v Speaker 1>Spider et F S. Why by a single stock when

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<v Speaker 1>you can invest in the entire sector of visits sector

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<v Speaker 1>sp d r S dot com or call on Sector

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<v Speaker 1>E t F. I'm Charlie Pellett, and that's a bloom

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<v Speaker 1>Bird business flash this. He's taking stock with Kathleen Hayes

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<v Speaker 1>and Pimpox on Bloomberg Radio, E Comm, Earth and brick

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<v Speaker 1>and mortar stores. One report from Mary Meeker the venture Capitalist,

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<v Speaker 1>explains that Warby Parker made more money per square foot

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<v Speaker 1>in its retail stores than Tiffany last year's. That's actually

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<v Speaker 1>better also than Michael Core's stores, according to Meaker. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>meet the co founder and the co chief executive of

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<v Speaker 1>Warby Parker, Neil Blumenthal. Neil, thanks very much for being

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<v Speaker 1>with us. Thanks for having me tell people about how

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<v Speaker 1>a lost pair of eyeglasses led to what is estimated

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<v Speaker 1>to be a company worth one point to billion, making

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<v Speaker 1>it the second most valuable private venture backed e commerce

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<v Speaker 1>company in the world. Um, well, you know, I think

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<v Speaker 1>the best businesses solve real problems. And my co founder,

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<v Speaker 1>Dave bal Boa was traveling and lost a pair of

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<v Speaker 1>seven hundred dollar glasses in the seat pocket of an airplane. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>and we're talking about it along with our two other

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<v Speaker 1>co founders, Jeff and Andy, and we thought that there

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<v Speaker 1>was no reason why glasses should be so expensive. And

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<v Speaker 1>we thought, what if we were to design the glasses

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<v Speaker 1>we love, used best materials, uh, and build a business

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<v Speaker 1>that could sell them for nine instead of five hundred UM.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's sort of is how Warry Parker got started.

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<v Speaker 1>The rest is history, not just offline. You've got what

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<v Speaker 1>thirty seven stores across the country. You've been vied at

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<v Speaker 1>one point two billion dollars. You were just telling me

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<v Speaker 1>you've got eight hundred employees. Uh, you do to me?

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<v Speaker 1>Have that? Also that element of social entrepreneurship, which means

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<v Speaker 1>you can make money doing good stuff for people, that's

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<v Speaker 1>not how how did that come in? And what does

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<v Speaker 1>that role? And helping developing nation citizens get good eye

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<v Speaker 1>care and good glasses, well something that was startling to

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<v Speaker 1>my co founders, and I has that over seven hundred

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<v Speaker 1>million people around the world don't have access to glasses,

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<v Speaker 1>and we think that that's crazy. Right, classes were invented

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<v Speaker 1>eight hundred years ago, So we're failing as a species

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<v Speaker 1>if we can't get technology that's eight hundred years old

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<v Speaker 1>in the hands of everybody that needs it. Uh. And

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<v Speaker 1>we thought, what's the best way to serve of others? Um,

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<v Speaker 1>what if we committed for every pair that we sell,

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<v Speaker 1>distributing one to someone in need. Um And to date

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<v Speaker 1>we distributed uh several million pairs of glasses to people

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<v Speaker 1>in need around the world. Actually, prior to starting Warby Parker,

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<v Speaker 1>I ran a nonprofit that would distribute eyeglasses in the

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<v Speaker 1>developing world and that was my exposure actually to the

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<v Speaker 1>optical industry and seeing the power of a pair of

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<v Speaker 1>glasses to transform somebody's life. It's amazing, Right, there's a

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<v Speaker 1>few things that have immediate impact that you put on

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<v Speaker 1>a pair of glasses. People's faces light up and they

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<v Speaker 1>can immediately work and be productive. You talk about power,

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<v Speaker 1>and I want you to maybe talk about the power

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<v Speaker 1>of marketing because I understand that there was an article

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<v Speaker 1>that appeared in Vogue magazine that really lit the fire

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<v Speaker 1>for Warby Parker. And what if you could describe. It

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<v Speaker 1>was nine thousand orders in one day that had you

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<v Speaker 1>all scrambling. Yeah, when we launched exactly six years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>we were featured in Vogue and g Q, and the

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<v Speaker 1>company took off like a that yip. We thought that

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<v Speaker 1>we were going to have to beg our parents and

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<v Speaker 1>our friends to buy, you know, maybe a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>pairs a week. But what happened is that we hit

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<v Speaker 1>our first year sales targets in three weeks. We sold

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<v Speaker 1>out our top fifteen thousand four weeks. We had a

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<v Speaker 1>waiting list of our twenty thousand people um And to

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<v Speaker 1>to us, what this showed was that people were sick

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<v Speaker 1>and tired of paying five dollars for a pair of

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<v Speaker 1>glasses that you know we could offer for But how

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<v Speaker 1>did you respond to that demand because you said you

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<v Speaker 1>had a waiting list for twenty thousand and I just

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<v Speaker 1>want to pinpoint it because sometimes you have a great idea,

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<v Speaker 1>you've got a great business, it starts off, but then

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<v Speaker 1>you don't know how to deal with success. Yea. We

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<v Speaker 1>so at the time we were full time business students

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<v Speaker 1>at Wharton. The first thing we started to do is

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<v Speaker 1>cut class so that way we could respond to all

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<v Speaker 1>these customer emails to help process the orders. Uh, and

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<v Speaker 1>we ended up just apologizing a lot and explaining to people, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>we just started. Uh, you know, there was a lot

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<v Speaker 1>more demand than we were anticipated. And we found that

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<v Speaker 1>the more that we explained to customer, the more connected

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<v Speaker 1>they felt with the brand. It's almost the way that

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<v Speaker 1>human beings build relationships with other human beings, which is

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<v Speaker 1>really through vulnerability. So we've always tried to explain not

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<v Speaker 1>just what we do, but the how and the why. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>did you feel vulnerable to the recent New York Times

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<v Speaker 1>piece that kind of said, you guys are just that

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<v Speaker 1>the you know, you're the poster boys. You are you

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<v Speaker 1>in body like hit cool? You're not cool. You gotta

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<v Speaker 1>be young, you got a slim You gotta be a

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<v Speaker 1>certain kind of person to to buy and wear a

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<v Speaker 1>Warvy Parkers. Did that? Did that hurt your feelings? It did? Um,

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<v Speaker 1>And what was amazing is that it seemed to rally

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<v Speaker 1>sort of our our audience. So this columnist right that said, um, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, even though Warry Parker's glasses are affordable, there's

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<v Speaker 1>this air of exclusivity around the brand. And we couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>disagree more and this writer, who usually gets maybe seven

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<v Speaker 1>comments on a particular article, got a hundred and eighty

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<v Speaker 1>five from people saying that they love the Warby Parker experience,

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<v Speaker 1>that they like the influence that where we Parkers having

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<v Speaker 1>on the industry, which is forcing other optical change to

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<v Speaker 1>um renovate their stores, lower their prices, and provide better

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<v Speaker 1>customer service, which we think is a good thing. And

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<v Speaker 1>you've also opened recent stores, one in Brooklyn, as Kathleen mentioned,

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<v Speaker 1>and we're also looking at new locations. UM. Yeah. In fact,

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<v Speaker 1>actually on the way here, I ran to the mall

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<v Speaker 1>about twenty minutes ago and now I don't miss an

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to walk through the mall. You know, we think

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<v Speaker 1>that the future of retail is the intersection of e

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<v Speaker 1>commerce and bricks and mortar, and we've been trying to

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<v Speaker 1>lead the way there. We just launched in the app

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<v Speaker 1>this past week, UM that uses Apple Pay. That makes

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<v Speaker 1>shopping more convenient. Uh, you'll begin to see just how

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<v Speaker 1>much we can integrate those two experiences. Well, I'm sure

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<v Speaker 1>Orange kind of Mere TREESA Jacob just on the show

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<v Speaker 1>with us, will be very happy there opening store here

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<v Speaker 1>in Orlando. And we're live at Pershing's Inside conference in Orlando, Florida.

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<v Speaker 1>And Katheine Hayes. This is Pim Fox and this is

0:10:56.679 --> 0:11:03.720
<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Radio. Coming up on taking Stock, We're going to

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<v Speaker 1>be talking about Harry Reid. I'm gonna talk also about

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<v Speaker 1>Bernie Sanders meeting with Harry Reid and find out what

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<v Speaker 1>went on in that meeting with details the head