“Do you ever wonder why you pay *so* much for glasses? Have you ever tried to buy glasses online looking for “cheaper” solutions, but they’ve turned out to be a bit too cheap? Or you’ve found something that looks good on screen, but didn’t know if that pair would suit you? Or realized that the designs of the frames & the site were just so bad that it made you shut the site & never visit again?! `
To begin with, let me throw some light on the first question by asking you another question: which is your favorite eyewear brand? Ray-Ban? Oakley? Prada? Or Bvlgari? Ever wonder who makes these eyewear? It should make sense when I tell you that Ray Ban makes Ray Ban & Oakley makes Oakley and so on. I only wish it were true.
80% of major eyewear brands are manufactured, distributed & retailed by a single company. That’s right. Just ONE. And if you ask me, there really is not much of a difference in quality between these brands. Their designs are great. But is it really warranted for you to pay 5 figure sums of money for just the brand label and succumb to this environment of artificial competition created by this entity?
If you answered “no” for my last question, then I have something that would be of interest to you. What if I told you that there is a start-up which recognizes this lopsidedness? And that they have created a website where you can get really awesome pairs of eyewear for a fraction of the price? How much you ask? How does Rs. 1,999 sound to ya?
Rs. 1,999 for any frames or sunglasses (all polarized lenses) – all made from the same raw material as branded eyewear. I’m talking about Glassic; an eyewear startup which designs its own glasses and they are some of the most classy pairs of glasses I’ve seen.
There hasn’t been much innovation or change in the buying process of spectacles, even though it’s been around for centuries and this is where Kailash & Devesh Nichani wanted to inject a bit of innovation in terms of both technology and marketing. This is why Devesh quit his job at Google to join Kailash in his entrepreneurship journey.
“How the heck is it possible to provide great quality at such an affordable price?”, you might ask. Well, a simple tweak to the supply chain is what has allowed Glassic to do so. In comparison to the entity that manufactures, distributes & retails 80% of branded eyewear, Glassic designs, manufactures & sells its own eyewear directly online. No distributors or middleman, therefore no redundant costs to be borne by the customer.
Great, now that you know what Glassic does, you might be wondering about the answers to the other set of questions I asked in the first paragraph. These are some very common issues that you would face when you try to buy a pair of glasses online.
So, here’s how the startup has tried to overcome those hurdles:
First off, the Glassic website got an insanely easy to use interface which shows you *only* the stuff that’s important for you to see in order to make your purchase decision.
Second, it has a state of the art virtual try on feature enabled by facial recognition technology. And it’s none of that “Upload Your Photo” nonsense. It is a 3D augmented reality based software that uses your webcam to show you a live feed of yourself. It’s like you’re sitting in front of a mirror!
Third, the prescription tool recommends the best lens for you, in terms of thickness, based on your power (prescription required). Toggle around the options to understand the features & pricing of the lenses using a simple 4 step process. Since Glassic believes in providing only the best, it has an exclusive tie up with the world’s best lens manufacturer, Essilor.
All the frames & sunglasses sold by Glassic have a one year limited warranty, 14 day free returns & COD. All lens orders come along with an authenticity card straight from Essilor.
Go ahead and give it a try! It’s an experience like no other.
