Why All the Warby Parker Clones Are Now Imploding

Warby Parker might have started the DTC trend, but the true awakening came with Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s interrupting the somewhat ridiculous Gillette domination of razor blades at mass/retail. Would-be entrepreneurs and VC investors mistook this unique category situation (single dominant incumbent player, ridiculously high margins, small/ligh... See more

Warby Parker, Casper, and Bonobos led a wave of sweeping disruption for consumer brands in the early 2010s. There’s an exciting new brand for every product category from toothpaste to air conditioners.

For Allbirds, this strategy can begin to address a unicorn status that was surely shaken by the IPO of Casper, Away’s recent struggles due to a global drop in travel and cap tables across the board have greatly reduced exit optionality. If Allbirds can continue building its own brand while becoming the authority and sustainable supplier to well-kno... See more