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Recently, there are two news about the overseas DTC brand of glasses worthy of attention. First, at the end of April, there was news that the American DTC eyewear brand "Warby Parker" planned to apply for an IPO this year. Recently, the domestic eyewear brand "INMIX" (音米) has also completed the independent split of domestic business and overseas business, and officially opened the brand to go overseas. At the same time, its cross-border e-commerce part has received millions of dollars in financing, and according to The author understands that the overseas business of "INMIX" is still at a very early stage.

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These two news about overseas eyewear brands have released two signals. 1. The head brand has developed to the scale of applying for IPO, which reflects the larger imagination of this track; 2. There are domestic brands in the eyewear category. The current going overseas also reflects that domestic brands have found entry points in this market with a lot of demand.

So how should domestic eyewear brands enter overseas markets and find their own users and markets? This starts with the competitive landscape of the overseas glasses market.

The eyewear market with great demand, the two opposing and merging camps

With the popularity of electronic devices, "myopia" has become another public enemy of mankind besides "sleep disorders". According to previous predictions of the World Health Organization, 50% of people in the world will be short-sighted by 2050. In addition to myopia, consumers also have an increasing demand for various types of glasses such as dazzling glasses and sunglasses (the glasses market discussed in this article also covers the concept of various types of glasses).

According to data from grand view research, the global eyewear market in 2020 will be 147.6 billion U.S. dollars, and it will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.5% from 2021 to 2028. From the perspective of channels, the epidemic has promoted consumer demand for online glasses. According to data from Global market insights, online glasses sales will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.5% by 2025.

From the perspective of market distribution, according to Statista's data prediction, North America will be the world's largest eyewear market in 2021, with a scale of 28.289 billion U.S. dollars. At the same time, China and India are the fastest growing eyewear markets.

After reading the overall situation, let's look at more detailed market competition.

Taking the largest eyewear market in the United States as an example, eyewear brands can basically be divided into two camps. One camp is a brand that has grown from a traditional retail model. This type of brand was established early (usually established in the last century), started with offline business first, and developed online business with the rise of e-commerce. In this category of brands, it is difficult to bypass the "Luxottica" brand.

"Luxottica" is actually a multinational group specializing in the manufacturing and sales of eyewear. It was established in 1961. It has many established eyewear brands, such as Ray Ban, Oakley, etc., and even has the eyewear business of luxury brands such as Prada.

Eyewear brand under "Luxottica"

In 2017, "Luxottica" merged with Essilor to become EssilorLuxottica. At that time, the combined valuation reached 46 billion U.S. dollars. According to the latest financial report of "Luxottica", the annual revenue of "Luxottica" reached $19.4 billion, which even exceeds the annual revenue of luxury brands such as Hermes and Rolex.

Before the emergence of the DTC eyewear brand, "Luxottica" almost reached a monopoly in the United States. According to ChinaSSPP, when the DTC eyewear brand "Warby Parker" mentioned in the previous article was established, "Luxottica" was in the US market. The share accounted for 60% to 70%, and the price of the eyewear brand was set high. The founder Dave created "Warby Parker" when he saw the user's demand for lower-priced glasses.

Therefore, the DTC brand represented by "Warby Parker" is another camp in the American eyewear market. Relying on the direct-to-consumer model, this type of brand eliminates dealers, retailers and other levels, and reduces the price of glasses to a greater extent.

Up to now, glasses brands under these two mainstream models have not accounted for a large market share. According to Statista's 2020 North American eyewear market share and the "Luxottica" Group's 2020 financial report data, "Luxottica" currently accounts for about 33.9% of the North American market, which is a significant share compared to the 60% before the emergence of the DTC brand. decline. And this is only the group's revenue data, if it is allocated to each brand under the group, the share will be even less.

Even though "Warby Parker" is already the largest DTC eyewear brand, its revenue in 2019 is only 250 million U.S. dollars. Even if this data is only placed in the North American market, it can only account for about 8% of the market share.

In order to facilitate the reader's understanding, the author made a chart here to show the changes in the overseas eyewear market before and after the appearance of the DTC brand.

*Note: After the emergence of the DTC brand, many traditional brands have also begun to turn to the DTC model, so the size of the circle representing DTC and "Luxottica" does not represent the scale of the two models

According to ditto's report, the epidemic has promoted the online purchase of eyewear, so the scale of DTC eyewear brands will continue to expand, which also reflects that DTC eyewear brands still have a lot of opportunities to go overseas. But at the same time, the overseas eyewear market is huge. Even if "Warby Parker" is planned to go public, it still occupies less than 10% of the target market. This means that there are many brands in this market, and overseas brands need to be strong. The advantage of the company can stand out among many brands.

Even so, many brands have received financing in the past two years, and the entry point and direction of the choice of these brands may be able to give some guidance value to brands intending to go overseas.

According to the author's incomplete statistics, since 2019, a total of 6 DTC eyewear brands at home and abroad have obtained financing or mergers and acquisitions. Among them, in addition to "INMIX", the other one is the cosmetic contact brand "MOODY". According to the data of it oranges, "MOODY" has received 6 investments since 2019, but according to the author's understanding, the brand has not yet gone overseas.

The following focuses on the overseas eyewear brands that have received financing. As analyzed in the previous article, the current overseas eyewear market is huge, with many and scattered brands. The DTC brand does not have a large group background such as "Luxottica", so it is even more necessary to find a suitable angle to enter the market. From these overseas brands that have received financing, the author also sees the characteristics or two general directions of some overseas DTC eyewear brands.

Those who do glasses DTC have also started to make apps, the importance of software and hardware interconnect

Buying glasses is actually the same as buying clothes. Online purchases always result in inappropriate sizes or styles because they can’t be tried on or worn. Therefore, many DTC brands will restore offline try-on scenes or provide to make up for the lack of online shopping experience as an entry point for their brands. Among them, the provision of online try-on services has become the "standard configuration" of many DTC eyewear brands.

For example, "Ace&Tate", which received 14.3 million euros in financing in September last year, has clearly stated its brand’s main selling point on the brand’s official website: "We will provide you with carefully designed glasses at a minimum price of 100 euros, and this price includes Prescribe".

A separate section called Prescription Checker is also set up on the official website of "Ace&Tate", which is a function designed by "Ace&Tate" to allow online glasses, and a corresponding App has been developed. According to the detailed introduction of the Google Play App, the specific method of use is that the user scans the QR code on the web side through the App, and then scans his own glasses lens after synchronizing with the web side, then the user's power can be determined, and this value is stored in the user's personal In the account, users can purchase new glasses based on this value.

The author found that in addition to "Ace&Tate", there are also many overseas brands that have developed separate apps for online opticians, such as GlassesUSA, Liingo, etc. The way these brands provide users with glasses is similar to "Ace&Tate", they are all scanning lenses. In addition, you can also measure the pupil distance online and do eye examinations.

In fact, overseas users have developed a better online medical habit. According to App Annie's data, currently ranked second in the US iOS medical app free download list is an online prescription app "GoodRx". In this app, you can not only prescribe prescriptions, but also get coupons.

In addition to the more medical needs such as online prescription, just like trying on clothes online, "Ace&Tate" also provides the function of trying on glasses online. Users can simulate the effect of wearing glasses on their face through the camera of a computer or mobile phone. According to the introduction of the official website, users only need to place a bank card in front of their forehead at an angle parallel to the ground and perpendicular to their forehead. You can try on all styles of glasses in the "Ace&Tate" store.

In addition, "Ace&Tate" also provides a multi-choice try-on service similar to "Warby Parker". Users choose four glasses, and the official will send the four glasses to the user at the same time. The user chooses the most suitable one, and then chooses the most suitable one. Several items needed are sent back free of charge.

In addition to "Ace&Tate", the online try-on function has actually become a standard feature of many overseas DTC eyewear brands, especially after the epidemic has become more demanding. Now search for the keyword virtual try on eyewear in Google, and you will find that several larger brands provide online try-on services, and the process is basically similar.

However, in contrast, most domestic eyewear brands do not provide virtual try-on services, which may be the reason for the convenience of logistics. Users can only simulate wearing various styles of frames through some wear-and-match apps. If domestic brands go overseas, the brand's own online try-on and online prescription services should be the most basic part. But on the other hand, if any domestic brand can provide similar services, it may greatly increase the order rate of users.