Today I would like to explain a garden variety conspiracy theory of how eye glasses are controlled by the mafia.  I stumbled upon this information while doing industry research about Warby Parker and simply connected the dots.

I don’t wear glasses so I guess I’ve been out of the loop on the eyewear industry. As it turns out, about 80 percent of glasses brands fall under the umbrella of an Italian company called Luxottica Group S.p.A. We’re talking most of the luxury brands: D&G, Prada, Armani, Chanel etc. We’re also talking the other end of the spectrum: Sears, Target, Sunglass Hut, Pearle Vision. Even some eye insurance companies are owned by Luxottica.

For one thing, this makes an important statement about branding. When the same company makes glasses for sears and Versace, you know the value has to be in the name.

More importantly, because Luxottica owns all these brands, they can keep the price of prescription glasses high. I’m not an economist, but I think it has something to do with market rates and a lack of competition yadda yadda, otherwise known as a monopoly.

Now, bear with me as I lead you down the rabbit hole.

Now being a military brat I happen to have friends who lived in Naples, Italy. One such friend happened to live next door to a not so inconsequential member of the Camorra crime family. This organization was the topic of bestselling book and now movie and TV series: Gomorrah.

According to Roberto Saviano, Italian journalist and author of the book, the Camorra manufacture much of the designer clothing on the market, and also have their hand in other industries such as Pinnacle Foods. For example, the book alleges that a designer dress worn by Angelina Jolie at the Oscars was made by the mafia in a sweatshop. (Not sure if it’s the one pictured)

Therefore, I don’t think it’s such a leap to say that the Camorra could be producing the world’s glasses for something like $5 a pop and selling them at LensCrafters for $500.

I’m partly joking. I  just really wanted to tell that story.

ANYWAY, the main point is that new online companies like Warby Parker are slowly emerging as strong competitors to Luxottica. I think there are a couple reasons why.

First, e commerce companies like Warby and other competitors like Zenni Optical have really created a disruptive innovation. By selling their products online, they cut the cost of having  brick and mortar locations. (Although Warby Parker has several stores in big cities.)

Warby Parker also makes their glasses in house, which cuts the cost of going through a third party for manufacturing.

Most importantly, Warby Parker has a strong social media presence. They mostly use Instagram and Snapchat, but are regularly posting on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest as well. Their posts not only sell glasses, but a whole lifestyle that customers can attain by wearing Warby Parker eyewear. If you wear Warby glasses, you can be like that cool chick the sweater.

So in conclusion, that is how Warby Parker is kicking the mafia’s butt. Thanks for sticking with me through that one.

In other news, our group is continuing to fill in research on our client and meeting on the 3rd to start planning our focus group.