Warby Parker Expand Eyeglass Business Financials and Sales Paper Full directions and resources below. Link to financials and sales: https://www.vox.com/2018/3/14/17115230/warby-parker-75-million-funding-t-rowe-price-ipo Vo@
Q Search
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you will be able to
1 Adapt the three-step writing process to reports and
proposals.
2 List the options for organizing informational reports, and
identify the key parts of a business plan.
3 Discuss three major ways to organize analytical reports.
4 Explain how to choose an organizational strategy when
writing a proposal.
COMMUNICATION CLOSE-UP AT
Warby Parker
www.warbyparker.com
When a company sets out to disrupt an entire industry, it’s not
surprising that its communication efforts don’t follow all the old
rules, either.
Much of the worldwide market for eyeglasses is controlled
by the Italian company Luxottica Group, which owns such
well-known brands as Ray-Ban and Oakley and manufactures
glasses for a host of high-fashion labels, from Dolce & Gabbana
to Versace. Luxottica also operates more than 7,000 retail
stores, including LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut. If you’ve ever
purchased a pair of prescription glasses or sunglasses, chances
are you’ve done business with Luxottica in one form or another.
And business has been very good for Luxottica, earning it some
80 percent of the global market for glasses.
Much of the remaining 20 percent of the market is in the
hands of Costco and Walmart, two companies that compete
on cost more than fashion. Between high fashion on one hand
and low prices on the other, these three giants seem to have
wrapped up the market.
Neil Blumenthal and David Gilboa looked at the data
and drew a different conclusion, however. They believed an
MyBCommLab®
Improve Your Grade! More than 10 million
students improved their results using Pearson MyLabs. Visit
mybcommlab.com for simulations, tutorials, and end-of-
chapter problems.
MA
VSKI
VILTA
388 PART 5 Reports and Proposals
opportunity existed for a company to compete on fashion and
price. Together with their University of Pennsylvania classmates
Andrew Hunt and Jeffrey Raider, they crafted a business model
that combines fashion-forward designs and a brand image that
appeals to younger consumers with the operational efficiency of
online commerce. Echoing their unconventional aspirations, they
named the company Warby Parker after two characters from the
works of the Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac.
The quest to connect with buyers in a market dominated by
a handful of major corporations gives Warby Parker’s communi-
cation efforts a different look and feel. You won’t find supermod-
els posing on yachts in the company’s promotional campaigns.
You’re more likely to find a blog post about what company
employees are reading or a wistful goodbye note to a summer
intern heading back to high school.
The company’s “annual reports” are a great example of
how unconventional thinking can lead to communications
that connect with audiences in fresh ways. All U.S. compa-
nies that sell stock to the public are required to issue annual
reports that disclose a variety of financial details. Most com-
panies expand on these minimum requirements with glossy,
persuasive messages about their operations, products, and
prospects. As a privately held company, Warby Parker isn’t
required to publish an annual report, but it does so anyway-
sort of. Its annual reports are anything but normal. One year,
the report was an online calendar of major, minor, and just
plain goofy things that happened around the company, from
product launches to a survey about how many pairs of pants
employees wear in a typical month. The following year, it was
an interactive message generator that created personalized
reports for website visitors based on how good or bad their
year had been.
This tradition-defying approach to communication fits the
transparent, social, and conversational style of today’s younger
consumers. And it helps position Warby Parker as a different
kind of company-one more in touch with those customers
and their needs and aspirations. The company won’t dethrone
Luxottica anytime soon, but it has already carved out a nice
chunk of the eyewear market and continues to grow as it heads
toward a possible initial public offering in the stock market. At
that point it will have to bend to convention just a little, at least
enough to meet government reporting requirements, but it will
surely maintain an offbeat approach in the rest of its communi-
cation efforts.”
The problem state-
ment clearly and
succinctly defines
the problem the
writers intend to
address.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The rapid growth of our company over the past five years has reduced the sense of community
among our staff. People no longer feel like part of an intimate organization that values teamwork.
PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF WORK
The purpose of this study is to determine whether social networking technology such as Facebook
and Socialtext would help rebuild a sense of community within the workforce and whether
encouraging the use of such tools in the workplace will have any negative consequences.
The study will attempt to assess the impact of social networks in other companies in terms of
community-building, morale, project communication, and overall productivity.
This paragraph
identifies exactly
what will be cov-
ered by the
research and
addressed in the
final report.
This section
explains how the
researchers will
find the data and
information they
need.
SOURCES AND METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
Data collection will start with secondary research, including a review of recently published articles
and studies on the use of social networking in business and a review of product information
published by technology vendors. Primary research will focus on an employee and management
survey to uncover attitudes about social networking tools. We will also collect anecdotal evidence
from bloggers and others with experience using networks in the workplace.
The preliminary
outline has
enough detail
to guide the
research and
set reader
expectations.
PRELIMINARY OUTLINE
The preliminary outline for this study is as follows:
1. What experiences have other companies had with social networks in the workplace?
A. Do social networks have a demonstrable business benefit?
B. How do employees benefit from using these tools?
C. Has network security and information confidentiality been an issue?
II. Is social networking an appropriate solution for our community-building needs?
A. Is social networking better than other tools and methods for community building?
B. Are employees already using social networking tools on the job?
C. Will a company-endorsed system distract employees from essential duties?
D. Will a company system add to managerial workloads in any way?
III. If we move ahead, should we use a “business-class” network such as Socialtext or a
consumer tool such as Facebook?
A. How do the initial and ongoing costs compare?
B. Do the additional capabilities of a business-class network justify the higher costs?
IV. How should we implement a social network?
A. Should we let it grow “organically, with employees choosing their own tools
and groups?
B. Should we make a variety of tools available and let employees improvise on
their own?
C. Should we designate one system as the official company social network and
make it a permanent, supported element of the information technology
infrastructure?
V. How can we evaluate the success of a new social network?
A. What are the criteria of success or failure?
B. What is the best way to measure these criteria?
The assignments
and schedule sec- –
tion clearly lists
responsibilities
and due dates.
TASK ASSIGNMENTS AND SCHEDULE
Each phase of this study will be completed by the following dates:
Secondary research: Hank Waters
Employee and management survey: Julienne Cho
Analysis and synthesis of research: Hank Waters/Julienne Cho
Comparison of business and consumer solutions: Julienne Cho
Comparison of implementation strategies: Hank Waters
Final report: Hank Waters
September 15, 2017
September 22, 2017
October 6, 2017
October 13, 2017
October 13, 2017
October 20, 2017
410 PART 5 Reports and Proposals
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES AT Warby Parker
You work as a communication specialist at Warby Parker, report- a. Home Try-On: Making online shopping even better than in-
ing to co-CEO David Gilboa. Using the skills you’ve been practic-
store shopping
ing in this course, respond to these challenges.
b. Home Try-On: Our tried-and-true way to eliminate the risk of
INDIVIDUAL CHALLENGE: You’re helping Gilboa prepare a report
buying eyewear online
about the company. Gilboa characterizes the report as a “public
c. Home Try-On: Now you can try on five frames in the comfort
business plan,” in that it will discuss the company and its objec-
of your own home
tives, strategies, and operations without disclosing the sort of
d. Home Try-On: How we reduce a major perceived risk in the
confidential information that a typical business plan includes.
Warby Parker business model
The target audience includes potential investors, employees, and
business partners.
TEAM CHALLENGE: Many companies offer a brief “fact sheet”
(often a downloadable, one-page PDF) that summarizes the con-
To help overcome shoppers’ reluctance to buy eyewear
cept of the business, its product lines, unique technologies, target
online, Warby Parker offers Home Try-On, in which people can
markets, biographies of key executives, and other information of
order five pairs of frames, keep them for five days at no cost,
potential interest to various stakeholders. In a team with two or
then decide which pair they would like to order. This gives
three other students, review the fact sheets (sometimes called a
shoppers lots of time to try on the frames they are considering
“company overview” or something similar) offered on the websites
and get the opinions of family and friends. Which of the follow-
of three companies in any industry, then collaborate on a one-
ing headings would you choose for a section in the report that
page fact sheet for Warby Parker. (For the purposes of this activity,
explains this program? Explain your reasoning in a brief email
you can adapt and reuse content from the Warby Parker website.)
message to your instructor.
You need to help Warby Parker with a communication challenge
to help them expand their eyeglasses business. Read the business
scenario on pp. 387-388 and 410. You need to use the chapter
method outlined on page 391 to write a proposal to increase
business. Consumers are still reluctant to purchase eyeglasses on
the internet and you are tasked with the challenge of creating a
marketing proposal to overcome this reluctance. (Ignore the
instructions on p. 410 to email your instructor and the team
challenge- that is not part of this assignment)
Description
You will research Warby Parker’s financial statements in their
website and write a proposal to gain more customers through
online sales. It may be helpful to look at competitors to see how
they are marketing to online customers.
Textbook pp. 387-388, 391, 410
Resources
Warby Parker website, financial reports, etc.
Length: 3-6 pages (no more than 6 pages), double spaced (not
including cover and references)
Assignment
Cover page and references page, please cite any materials used
Expectations including the above resources (APA or MLA format is
acceptable). You should include the Warby Parker website and/or
any of its materials, or any other websites you use to gather
research.
Purchase answer to see full
attachment