Surprise! Making cheap, hipster glasses isn't all that lucrative

(Image credit: Facebook.com/WarbyParker)

last updated 30 April 2015

At least not yet, according to popular online eyeglass retailer Warby Parker. While the five-year-old private company, which makes $100 frames with bookish East Egg names like Percey, Bensen, and Fillmore, says it's not yet profitable, it did recently raise a fresh round of capital, led by T. Rowe Price, of $100 million.

Though Warby Parker declined to comment on its valuation, The Wall Street Journal reports that the company's value may now top $1 billion. Breaking the 1-billion dollar mark before going public isn't easy to do for online retail startups — only a handful have successfully.

The company plans to use its new capital to expand its stores from 12 to 20 by year end, and is also considering increasing access to eye exams. While it works to push itself into the black, the company says it isn't in a rush to go public, and stressed that sales are still accelerating. —Lauren Hansen

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Editor's note: This story originally misstated the amount Warby Parker had raised in new funding. It has since been corrected. We regret the error.

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Lauren Hansen produces The Weekâ€™s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.