Why All the Warby Parker Clones Are Now Imploding

Highly venture-backed DTCs largely have two pathways to longevity and success. They can sell to an incumbent, much in the same way that Bonobos and Jet.com have sold to Walmart, or they can try their luck and go public. The incumbents are willing to overlook the less than ideal DTC economics because what they’re buying isn’t a business model, it’s ... See more

Perhaps the original mistake of the DTCs wasn’t in their vision, but in their decision to take the venture capital in the first place.

Instead of disrupting Target, the company suddenly wanted to be sold in places like Target.