Warby Parker (WRBY) 424B4Prospectus supplement with pricing info

Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)

Registration No. 333-259035

77,741,942 Shares of Class A Common Stock

Through and including October 24, 2021 (the 25th day after the listing date of our Class A common stock), all dealers effecting transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus.

Neither we nor any of the Registered Stockholders have authorized anyone to provide you with any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectuses we have prepared. Neither we nor any of the Registered Stockholders take any responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. To the extent they sell, the Registered Stockholders are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, shares of our Class A common stock only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of our Class A common stock. Our business, financial condition, and results of operations may have changed since that date.

For investors outside the United States: Neither we nor any of the Registered Stockholders have done anything that would permit the use of or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside of the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the shares of our Class A common stock by the Registered Stockholders and the distribution of this prospectus outside of the United States.

This prospectus is a part of a registration statement on Form S-1 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration or continuous offering process. Under this shelf process, the Registered Stockholders may, from time to time, sell the Class A common stock covered by this prospectus in the manner described in the section titled “Plan of Distribution.” Additionally, we may provide a prospectus supplement to add information to, or update or change information contained in, this prospectus (except that any such additions, updates, or other changes to the section titled “Plan of Distribution” shall only be made pursuant to a post-effective amendment to the extent they are material). You may obtain this information without charge by following the instructions under the section titled “Where You Can Find Additional Information” appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement before deciding to invest in our Class A common stock.

The number of shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock to be outstanding upon completion of this listing excludes:

Except as otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus assumes or gives effect to:

After giving effect to the Preferred Stock Conversion and the Common Stock Reclassification, as of June 30, 2021, we had a total of 89,629,017 shares of Class A common stock and 21,942,437 shares of Class B common stock outstanding. Between June 30, 2021 and the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we have not issued any additional shares of common stock or awards convertible or exercisable for shares of common stock except as noted above. In April 2021, we consummated a Tender Offer, pursuant to which 838,267 shares of our capital stock were tendered to the Company and 838,267 to a third-party entity.

Following the listing of our Class A common stock on the NYSE, approximately 89,449,678 shares of our Class A common stock may be immediately sold either (i) by the Registered Stockholders pursuant to this prospectus or (ii) by our other existing stockholders under Rule 144 under the Securities Act since such shares held by such other stockholders will have been beneficially owned by non-affiliates for at least one year. See also “Shares Eligible For Future Sale.”

given period. Home Try-On costs include customer shipping, consumable, and product fulfillment costs related to the program.

We have grown rapidly over the last several years, and therefore, our recent growth rates and financial performance should not necessarily be considered indicative of our future performance. For example, we launched our first “store within a store” retail concept starting in 2010 in cities such as New York, Nashville, and San Francisco, followed by our first permanent retail store in New York in 2013. Since then, we have grown to 145 retail stores across the United States and Canada as of June 30, 2021. Additionally, our net revenue increased 6.3% from $370.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 to $393.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, and 53.0% from $176.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 to $270.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021. To effectively manage and capitalize on our growth, we must continue to strengthen engagement with our existing customers, grow our brand awareness, expand our retail footprint, continue to invest in design and technology, expand our vision care offering, and evaluate potential opportunities to expand into new international markets. Our continued growth has in the past, and could in the future, strain our existing resources, and we could experience ongoing operating difficulties in managing our business across numerous jurisdictions, including difficulties in hiring, training, and managing a diffuse and growing employee base. Failure to scale and preserve our company culture with growth could harm our future success, including our ability to retain and recruit personnel and to effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives.

Moreover, the vertically integrated nature of our business, where we design all of our own glasses in our New York headquarters, contract manufacture all of our glass frames, fulfill the glasses we sell at our own optical and fulfillment laboratories as well as at third-party contract laboratories, sell our products exclusively through our own retail stores, e-commerce site and mobile application, and service our products, exposes us to risk and disruption at many points that are critical to successfully operating our business, and may make it more difficult for us to scale our business. If we do not adapt to meet these evolving challenges, or if our management team does not effectively scale with our growth, we may experience erosion to our brand, the quality of our products and services may suffer, and our company culture may be harmed.

Our growth strategy contemplates a significant expansion of our retail store footprint, increase in our advertising and other marketing spending and expansion of our vision care services. As we seek to increase the scope of services that we provide and expand in the types of payments we receive from customers from cash-pay to vision plans and health plans, we will increasingly be subject to a number of federal and state healthcare regulatory laws, including federal and state anti-kickback, false claims, self-referral, and other healthcare fraud and abuse laws. In addition, many of our existing retail stores are relatively new and these retail stores or future retail stores may not generate net revenue and cash flow comparable with those generated by our more mature stores, especially as we move to new or expand in existing geographic markets. For example, approximately 85% of our retail stores have been opened in the last five years. Moreover, certain occurrences outside of our control may result in the closure of our retail stores. For example, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we temporarily closed all of our retail stores in March 2020, and while we have since reopened all retail stores, it has been under new operating limitations such as shorter operating hours, mask guidelines for employees and customers, and other constraints on our previous retail sales strategies. We have also had to temporarily close certain retail stores due

to employee illness and may need to do so in the future. We are unable to predict whether consumer shopping behaviors will change as we make these changes to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, our ability to negotiate favorable terms on an expiring lease or for a lease renewal option may depend on factors that are not within our control. Successful implementation of our growth strategy will require significant expenditures before any substantial associated revenue is generated and we cannot guarantee that these increased investments will result in corresponding and offsetting revenue growth.

The industry for stylish, affordable glasses, as well as for our other optical products and services is rapidly evolving and may not develop as we expect. Even if our net revenue continues to increase, our net revenue growth rates may decline in the future as a result of a variety of factors, including macroeconomic factors, increased competition, and the maturation of our business. As a result, you should not rely on our net revenue growth rate for any prior period as an indication of our future performance. Overall growth of our net revenue will depend on a number of factors, including our ability to:

Because we have a limited history operating our business at its current scale, it is difficult to evaluate our current business and future prospects, including our ability to plan for and model future growth. Our limited operating experience at this scale, combined with the rapidly evolving nature of the market in which we sell our products and services, substantial uncertainty concerning how these markets may develop, and other economic factors beyond our control, reduces our ability to accurately forecast quarterly or annual revenue. Failure to manage our future growth effectively could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.

We also expect to continue to expend substantial financial and other resources to grow our business, and we may fail to allocate our resources in a manner that results in increased net revenue growth in our business. Additionally, we may encounter unforeseen operating expenses, difficulties, complications, delays, and other unknown factors that may result in losses in future periods. If our net revenue growth does not meet our expectations in future periods, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be harmed, and we may not achieve or sustain profitability in the future.

Meeting customer demand partially depends on our ability to obtain timely and adequate delivery of components for our products and services. All of the components that go into the manufacturing of our products and services are sourced from a limited number of third-party suppliers predominantly in the U.S., China, Italy, Vietnam, and Japan, and, in particular, over half of the cellulose acetate used to produce many of our frames is provided by a single supplier. Aside from the cellulose acetate that we source ourselves, our contract manufacturers purchase many of these components on our behalf, including sun lenses, demo lenses, hinge and core kits, and branded logos, subject to certain approved supplier lists, and we do not have long-term arrangements with most of our component suppliers. We are therefore subject to the risk of shortages and long lead times in the supply of these components and the risk that our suppliers discontinue or modify components used in our products. In addition, the lead times associated with certain components are lengthy and preclude rapid changes in design, quantities, and delivery schedules. Our ability to meet temporary unforeseen increases in demand has been, and may in the future be, impacted by our reliance on the availability of components from these sub-suppliers. We may in the future experience component shortages, and the predictability of the availability of these components may be limited, which may be heightened in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In the event of a component shortage or supply interruption from suppliers of these components, we may not be able to develop alternate sources in a timely manner. Developing alternate sources of supply for these components may be time-consuming, difficult, and costly, and we may not be able to source these components on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all, which may undermine our ability to fill our orders in a timely manner. Any interruption or delay in the supply of any of these parts or components, or the inability to obtain these parts or components from alternate sources at acceptable prices and within a reasonable amount of time, would harm our ability to timely ship our products to our customers.

In addition, substantially all of our components are shipped directly from our contract manufacturers to our optical laboratories in the United States or our third-party optical laboratories in the United States and China, where lenses are cut and mounted into frames. These laboratories process most of the glasses ordered by our customers. Once processed at the laboratories, the finished products are then sorted and shipped using third-party carriers to our retail stores for customer pickup or directly to our customers. Our glass frames for our Home Try-On program are shipped directly from our contract manufacturers to our third-party distribution center in the United States for shipment directly to our customers. We depend in large part on the orderly operation of this distribution process, which depends, in turn, on adherence to shipping schedules and effective management of our optical laboratory network and third-party distribution center. Increases in transportation costs (including increases in fuel costs), issues with overseas shipments, supplier-side delays, reductions in the transportation capacity of carriers, labor strikes or shortages in the transportation industry, disruptions to the national and international transportation infrastructure, and unexpected delivery interruptions or delays also have the potential to derail our distribution process.

Moreover, volatile economic conditions may make it more likely that our suppliers and logistics providers may be unable to timely deliver supplies, or at all, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to timely locate alternative suppliers of comparable quality at an acceptable price. In addition, international supply chains may be impacted by events outside of our control, including but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic, and limit our ability to procure timely delivery of supplies or finished goods and services. We face additional risks related to the optical laboratory we contract with in China and suppliers in China, including port of entry risks such as longshoremen strikes, import restrictions, foreign government regulations, trade restrictions, customs, and duties.

We source components from suppliers located in China. Effective September 1, 2019, the U.S. government implemented a 15% tariff on specified products imported into the U.S. from China and effective February 14, 2020, the 15% tariff was reduced to 7.5%. In June 2020, the U.S. government granted a temporary exclusion for plastic and metal frames with a retroactive effective date of September 1, 2019, and such exclusion expired in September 2020. Given the recent change in the U.S. presidential administration, there is uncertainty whether there will be, and the resulting impacts of, any changes to U.S. government trade policy. While we have implemented mitigation plans and continue to focus on additional mitigation strategies to offset the impact of tariffs, costs with respect to products subject to these tariffs have increased. If we are unable to mitigate the full impact of the enacted tariffs or if there is a further escalation of tariffs, costs on a significant portion of our products may increase further and our

financial results may be negatively affected. While it is too early to predict how the China tariffs will impact our business, our financial results may also be impacted by any resulting economic slowdown.

The inability to fulfill, or any delays in processing, customer orders through our optical laboratory network or any quality issues could result in the loss of customers, issuances of refunds or credits, and may also adversely affect our reputation. The success of our retail stores and e-commerce sales depends on the timely receipt of products by our customers and any repeated, intermittent or long-term disruption in, or failures of, the operations of our distribution center and/or optical laboratories could result in lower sales and profitability, a loss of loyalty to our brands, and excess inventory. The insurance we maintain for business interruption may not cover all risk, or be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses, may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all, and any insurance proceeds may not be paid to us in a timely manner.

Furthermore, increases in compensation, wage pressure, and other expenses for our employees, may adversely affect our profitability. Increases in minimum wages and other wage and hour regulations can exacerbate this risk. These cost increases may be the result of inflationary pressures which could further reduce our sales or profitability. Increases in other operating costs, including changes in energy prices and lease and utility costs, may increase our cost of products sold or selling, general, and administrative expenses. Our competitive price model and pricing pressures in the optical retail industry may inhibit our ability to reflect these increased costs in the prices of our products, in which case such increased costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Although we offer a differentiated distribution and service business model, we continue to compete directly with large, integrated optical players that have multiple brands and retail banners, such as EssilorLuxottica and VSP. This competition takes place both in physical retail locations as well as online, for both glasses and contact lenses. In addition to glasses, we sell both our own private label Scout by Warby Parker contact lenses that we contract manufacture as well as many leading third-party contact lens brands. We also compete with independent ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians located in our markets as they often provide many goods and services similar to those that we provide. To compete effectively, we must continue to create, invest in, or acquire advanced technology, incorporate this technology into our products and services, obtain regulatory approvals in a timely manner where required, and process and successfully market our products.

Many of our competitors have greater financial and operational resources, longer operating histories, greater brand recognition, and broader geographic presence than we do. As a result, they may be able to engage in extensive and prolonged price promotions or otherwise offer more competitive prices, which may adversely affect our business. They may also be able to spend more than we do for advertising. We may be at a substantial disadvantage to larger competitors with greater economies of scale. If our costs are greater compared to those of our competitors, the pricing of our products and services may not be as attractive, thus depressing sales or the profitability of our products and services. Our competitors may expand into markets in which we currently operate and we remain vulnerable to the marketing power and high level of customer recognition of these larger competitors and to the risk that these competitors or others could attract our customer base. Some of our competitors are vertically integrated and are also engaged in the manufacture and distribution of glasses and contact lenses as well as in managed care, and many of our competitors operate under a variety of brands and price points. These competitors can advantageously leverage this structure to better compete and access the market and certain vertically integrated organizations with significant market power could potentially utilize this power to make it more difficult for us to compete. We purchase some of our product components from suppliers who are affiliates of one or more competitors. In addition, if any of our competitors were to consolidate operations, such consolidation would exacerbate the aforementioned risks.

We may not continue to be able to successfully compete against existing or future competitors. Our inability to respond effectively to competitive pressures, improved performance by our competitors, and changes in the retail markets could result in lost market share and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The growth of our business is dependent upon our ability to continue to grow by cost-effectively retaining our existing customers and increasing their AOV, and adding new customers. Although we believe that many customers originate from word-of-mouth and other non-paid referrals, we expect to continue to expend resources and run marketing campaigns to acquire additional customers, all of which could impact our overall profitability. If we are not able to continue to expand our customer base, increase their AOV or fail to retain customers, our net revenue may grow slower than expected or decline.

The growth of our e-commerce channel is critical to our continued customer retention and growth. Historically, consumers have been slower to adopt online shopping for glasses and contact lenses than e-commerce offerings in other industries such as consumer electronics and apparel. Improving upon the consumer in-store experience through an online platform is difficult due to broad consumer demands on selection, quality, convenience, and affordability. Changing traditional optical retail habits is difficult, and if consumers and retailers do not embrace online optical retail as we expect, our business and operations could be harmed. Moreover, even if more consumers begin to shop for glasses and contacts online, if we are unable to address their changing needs and anticipate or respond to market trends and new technologies in a timely and cost-efficient manner, we could experience increased customer churn, any of which would adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We have also historically generated a significant portion of our revenue from our retail stores, and our growth strategy will depend, in large part, on acquiring customers through the growth of our retail store base and expansion of our existing retail store operations. Our ability to successfully open and operate new retail stores depends on many factors, including, among others, our ability to address regulatory, competitive, merchandising, marketing, distribution, and other challenges encountered in connection with expansion into new markets where we have limited historical experience; negotiate acceptable lease terms at suitable retail stores; construct and open our retail stores on a timely basis; successfully integrate new retail stores into our existing management structure and operations, including information technology integration; recruit and retain qualified optometrists, opticians, and other vision care professionals for any new retail store; and hire, train, and retain an expanded workforce of retail store managers and other personnel. Our failure to effectively address challenges such as these could adversely affect our ability to successfully open and operate new retail stores in a timely and cost-effective manner. In addition, opening new retail stores in our established markets may result in inadvertent oversaturation, temporarily or permanently divert customers and sales from our existing retail stores and e-commerce channels to new retail stores and reduce comparable store sales, thus adversely affecting our overall financial performance.

Our ability to attract new customers and increase net revenue and AOV from existing customers also depends in large part on our ability to enhance and improve our existing products and to introduce new products and services, in each case, in a timely manner. We also must be able to identify and originate styles and trends as well as to anticipate and react to changing consumer demands in a timely manner. The success of new and/or enhanced products and services depends on several factors, including their timely introduction and completion, sufficient demand, and cost-effectiveness. We are building and improving machine learning models and other technological capabilities to drive improved customer experience, as well as efficiencies in our operations, such as optimized payment processing and customer service, and automated key support workflows. While we expect these technologies to lead to improvements in the performance of our business and operations, including inventory prediction and customer traffic prediction and management, any flaws or failures of such technologies could cause interruptions or delays in our service, which may harm our business.

Our number of customers may decline materially or fluctuate as a result of many factors, including, among other things:

In addition, if we are unable to provide high-quality support to customers or help resolve issues in a timely and acceptable manner, our ability to attract and retain customers could be adversely affected. If our number of customers declines or fluctuates for any of these reasons among others, our business would suffer.

Efficient inventory management is a key component of our business success and profitability. To be successful, we must maintain sufficient inventory levels to meet our customers’ demands without allowing those levels to increase to such an extent that the costs to our or our third-party optical laboratories, retail stores and other points of distribution that hold the goods unduly impact our financial results. We must balance the need to maintain inventory levels that are sufficient to ensure competitive lead times against the risk of inventory obsolescence because of changing customer requirements, fluctuating commodity prices, changes to our products, product transfers, or the life cycle of our products. If we fail to adequately forecast demand for any product, or fail to determine the optimal product mix for production purposes, we may face production capacity issues in processing sufficient quantities of a given product. If our buying and distribution decisions do not accurately predict customer trends or spending levels in general or if we inappropriately price products, we may have to record potential write-downs relating to the value of obsolete or excess inventory. Conversely, if we underestimate future demand for a particular product or do not respond quickly enough to replenish our best performing products, we may have a shortfall in inventory of such products, likely leading to unfulfilled orders, reduced net revenue, and customer dissatisfaction. In addition, because we source components from suppliers located in China, our inventory management may be impacted by enactment or further escalation of tariffs, import restrictions, foreign government regulations, trade restrictions, customs, and duties.

Maintaining adequate inventory requires significant attention and monitoring of market trends, local markets, developments with suppliers, and our distribution network, and it is not certain that we will be effective in our inventory management. We are subject to the risk of inventory loss or theft and we may experience higher rates of inventory shrinkage or incur increased security costs to combat inventory theft. In addition, any casualty or disruption to our or our third-party optical laboratories, Home Try-On distribution center, or retail stores may damage or destroy our inventory located there. As we expand our operations, it may be more difficult to effectively manage our inventory. If we are not successful in managing our inventory balances, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Maintaining and enhancing our appeal and reputation as a stylish, innovative, and coveted brand is critical to attracting and expanding our relationships with customers. The successful promotion of our brand and the market’s awareness of our products and services will depend on a number of factors, including our marketing efforts, ability to continue to develop our products and services, and ability to successfully differentiate our offerings from competitive offerings. We expect to invest substantial resources to promote and maintain our brand, but there is no guarantee that our brand development strategies will enhance the recognition of our brand or lead to increased sales. The strength of our brand will depend largely on our ability to provide stylish products and quality services at competitive prices. Brand promotion activities may not yield increased net revenue, and even if they do, the increased net revenue may not offset the expenses we incur in promoting and maintaining our brand and reputation. In order to protect our brand, we also expend substantial resources to register and defend our trademarks and to prevent others from using the same or substantially similar marks. Despite these efforts, we may not always be successful in protecting our trademarks. Our trademarks may be diluted, and we may suffer harm to our reputation, or other harm to our brand. If our efforts to cost-effectively promote and maintain our brand are not successful, our results of operations and our ability to attract and engage customers, partners, and employees may be adversely affected.

Unfavorable publicity regarding our products, customer service, or privacy and security practices could also harm our reputation and diminish confidence in, and the use of, our products and services. In addition, negative publicity related to key brands that we have partnered with may damage our reputation, even if the publicity is not directly related to us. If we fail to maintain, protect, and enhance our brand successfully or to maintain loyalty among customers, or if we incur substantial expenses in unsuccessful attempts to maintain, protect, and enhance our brand, we may fail to attract or increase the engagement of customers, and our business, financial condition, and results of operations may suffer.

We had a net loss of $55.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 and $7.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and have in the past had net losses. As of June 30, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $356.3 million. Because we have a short operating history at scale, it is difficult for us to predict our future operating results. We will need to generate and sustain increased revenue and manage our costs to achieve profitability. Even if we do, we may not be able to sustain or increase our profitability.

Our ability to generate profit depends on our ability to grow net revenues and drive operational efficiencies in our business to generate better margins. We expect to incur increased operating costs and may continue to generate net losses in the near term in order to:

We may discover that these initiatives are more expensive than we currently anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our net revenue sufficiently to offset these expenses or realize any anticipated. We will also face greater compliance costs associated with the increased scope of our business and being a public company. Any failure to adequately increase net revenue or manage operating costs could prevent us from achieving or sustaining profitability. We may not realize the operating efficiencies we expect to achieve through our efforts to scale the business, reduce friction in the shopping experience, and optimize costs. As such, due to these factors and others, we may not be able to achieve or sustain profitability in the near term or at all. If we are unable to achieve or sustain profitability, the value of our business and the trading price of our Class A common stock may be negatively impacted.

Our operations depend on our ability to offer eye exams for glasses and contact lenses. Our ability to hire optometrists, opticians, and other vision care professionals and/or contract with optometrists or independent professional corporations or similar entities that employ optometrists for our retail stores that offer such eye exams is important to our operations as well as our growth strategy, but there is no assurance that we will be successful in recruiting such professionals. Furthermore, our operations are subject to state licensing laws and many states require that opticians be licensed to dispense and fit glasses and contact lenses.

Our ability to attract and retain optometrists, opticians and other vision care professionals and/or contract with optometrists or independent professional corporations or similar entities that employ optometrists depends on several factors. We compete with other optical retail companies, health systems and group practices for vision

care professionals. We, as well as the professional corporations or similar entities that employ optometrists in certain of our retail stores, could face difficulties attracting and retaining qualified professionals if we or such corporations fail to offer competitive compensation and benefits. Increased compensation for vision care professionals could raise our costs and put pressure on our margins.

The loss of or the inability by us or our affiliated professional entities to foster new relationships with such vision care professionals could impair our ability to provide services to our customers and/or cause our customers to go elsewhere for their optical needs. A change to any of the foregoing relationships could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We rely heavily on our in-house information technology and enterprise resource planning systems, the latter of which we are in the process of transitioning, for many functions across our operations, including managing our supply chain and inventory, processing customer transactions in our stores, allocating lens processing jobs to the appropriate laboratories, our financial accounting and reporting, compensating our employees, and operating our website, mobile applications and in-store systems. Our ability to effectively manage our business and coordinate the manufacturing, sourcing, distribution, and sale of our products depends significantly on the reliability and capacity of these systems. We are critically dependent on the integrity, security, and consistent operations of these systems, which are highly reliant on the coordination of our internal business and engineering teams. We also collect, process, and store sensitive and confidential information, including our proprietary business information and that of our customers, employees, suppliers, and business partners. The secure processing, maintenance, and transmission of this information is critical to our operations.

Our systems may be subject to damage or interruption from power outages or damages, telecommunications problems, data corruption, software errors, network failures, acts of war or terrorist attacks, fire, flood, global pandemics, and natural disasters; our existing safety systems, data backup, access protection, user management, and information technology emergency planning may not be sufficient to prevent data loss or long-term network outages. In addition, we may have to upgrade our existing information technology systems or choose to incorporate new technology systems from time to time in order for such systems to support the increasing needs of our expanding business. Costs and potential problems and interruptions associated with the implementation of new or upgraded systems and technology or with maintenance or adequate support of existing systems could disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our operations.

Our systems and those of our third-party service providers and business partners may be vulnerable to security incidents, attacks by hackers, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, human errors or other similar events. If unauthorized parties gain access to our networks or databases, or those of our third-party service providers or business partners, they may be able to steal, publish, delete, use inappropriately, or modify our private and sensitive third-party information including personal health information, credit card information, and personal identification information. In addition, employees may intentionally or inadvertently cause data or security incidents that result in unauthorized release of personal or confidential information. Because the techniques used to circumvent security systems can be highly sophisticated, change frequently, are often not recognized until launched against a target, and may originate from less regulated and remote areas around the world, we may be unable to proactively address all possible techniques or implement adequate preventive measures for all situations.

Security incidents compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of this information and our systems could result from cyber-attacks, computer malware, viruses, social engineering (including spear phishing and ransomware attacks), credential stuffing, supply chain attacks, efforts by individuals or groups of hackers and sophisticated organizations, including state-sponsored organizations, errors or malfeasance of our personnel, and security vulnerabilities in the software or systems on which we rely. We anticipate that these threats will continue to grow in scope and complexity over time and such incidents have occurred in the past, and may occur in the future, resulting in unauthorized, unlawful, or inappropriate access to, inability to access, disclosure of, or loss of the sensitive, proprietary and confidential information that we handle. For example, in 2018, we experienced a

credential stuffing attack in which malicious third parties likely used credentials compromised in data breaches suffered by other, unaffiliated companies to access accounts on our platform. In 2019, we received notice from the Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicating that OCR would begin an investigation regarding the incident and our compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules and requesting certain information related to the incident and our compliance with the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. To resolve the open investigations, OCR may, among other actions, request a monetary settlement and/or a corrective action plan for a period of one to three years, including through a resolution agreement, or impose civil money penalties for non-compliance. We continue to work on a resolution with OCR. While we employ a number of security measures designed to prevent, detect, and mitigate potential for harm to our users from the theft of or misuse of user credentials on our network, these measures may not be effective in every instance. Moreover, while we maintain cyber insurance that may help provide coverage for these types of incidents, we cannot assure you that our insurance will be adequate to cover costs and liabilities related to these incidents. Any such breach, attack, virus, or other event could result in additional costly investigations and litigation exceeding applicable insurance coverage or contractual rights available to us, civil or criminal penalties, operational changes or other response measures, loss of consumer confidence in our security measures, and negative publicity that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We also rely on a number of third-party service providers to operate our critical business systems, provide us with software, and process confidential and personal information, such as the payment processors that process customer credit card payments, which expose us to security risks outside of our direct control and our ability to monitor these third-party service providers’ data security is limited. These service providers could experience a security incident that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the systems they operate for us or the information they process on our behalf. Cybercrime and hacking techniques are constantly evolving, and we or our third-party service providers may be unable to anticipate attempted security breaches, react in a timely manner, or implement adequate preventative measures, particularly given the increasing use of hacking techniques designed to circumvent controls, avoid detection, and remove or obfuscate forensic artifacts. While we have taken measures designed to protect the security of the confidential and personal information under our control, we cannot assure you that any security measures that we or our third-party service providers have implemented will be effective against current or future security threats. Moreover, we or our third-party service providers may be more vulnerable to such attacks in remote work environments, which have increased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A security breach may also cause us to breach our contractual obligations. Our agreements with certain customers, business partners, or other stakeholders may require us to use industry-standard or reasonable measures to safeguard personal information. We also may be subject to laws that require us to use industry-standard or reasonable security measures to safeguard personal information. A security incident could lead to claims by our customers, business partners, or other relevant stakeholders that we have failed to comply with such legal or contractual obligations. In addition, our inability to comply with data privacy obligations in our contracts or our inability to flow down such obligations to our vendors, collaborators, other contractors, or consultants may cause us to breach our contracts. As a result, we could be subject to legal action or our customers or business partners could end their relationships with us. There can be no assurance that the limitations of liability in our contracts would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from liabilities or damages.

In addition, any such access, disclosure or other loss or unauthorized use of information or data, whether actual or perceived, could result in legal claims or proceedings, regulatory investigations or actions, and other types of liability under laws that protect the privacy and security of personal information, including federal, state and foreign data protection and privacy regulations, violations of which could result in significant penalties and fines in the EU and United States. In addition, although we seek to detect and investigate all data security incidents, security breaches, and other incidents of unauthorized access to our information technology systems and data can be difficult to detect and any delay in identifying such breaches or incidents may lead to increased harm and legal exposure of the type described above.

The cost of investigating, mitigating, and responding to potential security breaches and complying with applicable breach notification obligations to individuals, regulators, partners, and others can be significant. Further, defending a suit, regardless of its merit, could be costly, divert management attention, and harm our reputation. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceed available insurance coverage, or the

occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, revenues, results of operations, or cash flows. Any material disruption or slowdown of our systems or those of our third-party service providers and business partners, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Our risks are likely to increase as we continue to expand, grow our customer base, and process, store, and transmit increasing amounts of proprietary and sensitive data.

As an e-commerce and multichannel retailer, we encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by businesses with significant online sales. The successful operation of our business as well as our ability to provide a positive shopping experience that will generate orders and drive subsequent visits depends on efficient and uninterrupted operation of our e-commerce order-taking and fulfillment operations. If we are unable to allow real-time and accurate visibility to product availability when customers are ready to purchase, quickly and efficiently fulfill our customers’ orders using the fulfillment and payment methods they demand, provide a convenient and consistent experience for our customers regardless of the ultimate sales channel, or effectively manage our online sales, our ability to compete and our results of operations could be adversely affected. Risks associated with our e-commerce and multichannel business include:

Our online sales also expose us to broader applicability of regulations, as well as additional regulations, such as the prescription verification and other requirements under the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act, or the FCLCA, rules relating to registration of internet sellers, certain anti-money laundering, trade sanction, anti-corruption, anti-bribery, and international trade laws. Problems in any of these areas could result in a reduction in sales, increased costs, sanctions or penalties, and damage to our reputation and brands.

In addition, we must keep up to date with competitive technology trends, including the use of new or improved technology, creative user interfaces, virtual and augmented reality, and other e-commerce marketing tools such as paid search and mobile application, among others, which may increase our costs and which may not increase sales or attract customers. Our competitors, some of whom have greater resources than we do, may also be able to benefit from changes in e-commerce technologies, which could harm our competitive position.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the travel restrictions, quarantines, other and related public health measures and actions taken by governments and the private sector have adversely affected global economies, financial markets, and the overall environment for our business, and the extent to which it may continue to impact our future results of operations and overall financial performance remains uncertain. The global macroeconomic effects of the

pandemic, including the Delta variant, may persist for an indefinite period of time, even after the pandemic has subsided.

As a result of the pandemic, the recommendations of government and health authorities and our concern for the health and safety of our team members and customers, our retail stores closed to the public beginning on March 14, 2020. We began reopening our retail stores to the public through a phased approach commencing on May 14, 2020 and successfully completed the reopening process by December 31, 2020. We also transitioned our Corporate and Customer Experience teams to remote work and closed our in-house optical lab for 24 hours to implement robust safety and sanitization protocols. While we expect to be able to continue operations for the duration of the pandemic, our retail store operations are subject to change based on market conditions and the continued evolution of the pandemic and we continue to monitor and adjust our health and safety protocols. In addition, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of our suppliers and logistics providers have experienced supply constraints or labor shortages due to the pandemic. These impacts resulted in disruptions to our product and delivery supply chain, including increased delivery times for certain products.

COVID-19 and related governmental reactions have had and may continue to have a negative impact on our financial condition, business, and results of operations due to the occurrence of some or all of the following events or circumstances, among others:

The scope and duration of the pandemic, including the current resurgences as a result of the Delta variant in various regions in the United States and globally and other future resurgences, the pace at which government restrictions are lifted or whether additional actions may be taken to contain the virus, the impact on our customers and suppliers, the speed and extent to which markets fully recover from the disruptions caused by the pandemic, and the impact of these factors on our business, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence. It is possible that changes in economic conditions and steps taken by the federal government and the Federal Reserve in response to the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to higher inflation than we had anticipated, which could in turn lead to an increase in our costs of products and services and other operating expenses. In addition, to the extent COVID-19 adversely affects our operations and global economic conditions more generally, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described herein.

While we believe that the long-term fundamentals of our business are largely unchanged, and anticipate that our operating results in future fiscal years will begin to reflect a more normal operating environment, the current economic and public health climate has created a high degree of uncertainty. As such, we continue to closely monitor this global health crisis and will continue to reassess our strategy and operational structure on a regular,

ongoing basis as the situation evolves. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for more details on the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic disruptions, and the actual operational and financial impacts that we have experienced to date.

An increasing percentage of our customers and prospective customers receive vision insurance coverage through third-party payors, including vision insurance companies and managed care payors. We have relationships with only a few vision care insurers in the United States. Our future operational success could depend on our ability to establish relationships with vision care insurers and major carriers and to negotiate contracts with managed vision care companies, vision insurance providers, and other third-party payors, several of whom have significant market share.

Although many customers with vision insurance coverage through third-party payors that we do not have relationships with have been willing to either use their out-of-network benefits or forego using their benefits in order to shop with us or to shop with us for additional purchases once they have exhausted their vision care benefits, these customers may be less willing to take these actions over time as the third-party payors increase their market power/networks, decrease or alter their out-of-network benefits, or otherwise influence customer behavior.

We may be unable to establish or maintain satisfactory relationships with managed care and other third-party payors. In addition, many third-party payors have existing provider structures in place that they may be unable or unwilling to change. Some vertically integrated payors also have their own networks, and these payors may take actions to maintain or protect these networks in ways that negatively affect us, including by increasing costs or not allowing our new or existing stores to participate in their networks. Increasing consolidation in the optical industry may give such payors greater market power which may adversely affect our ability to negotiate reimbursement rates under managed care arrangements. Our inability to enter into arrangements with third-party payors in the future or to maintain existing relationships with third-party payors on commercially reasonable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

For the small portion of our net revenue that is currently derived from third-party coverage and reimbursement, including Medicare Advantage and commercial insurance plans, such as managed vision care plans, we and our employed and affiliated vision care professionals, as applicable, are generally reimbursed for the vision care services and products that we or our affiliated vision care professionals provide through payment systems managed by private insurance companies, managed care organizations, and governmental agencies. Coverage and payment levels are determined at each third-party payor’s discretion, and we have limited control over third-party payor’s decision-making with respect to coverage and payment levels. Coverage restrictions and reductions in reimbursement levels or payment methodologies may negatively impact our sales and profits. We cannot provide any assurances that we will be able to maintain or increase our participation in third-party payor arrangements or that we will be adequately reimbursed by managed care payors, vision insurance providers, and other third-party payors for the services we provide and the products we sell.

Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuation. We do observe moderately higher seasonal demand during the month of December due in part to customer usage of health and flexible spending benefits in the final week of the year. Consistent with our policy to recognize revenue upon order delivery, any orders placed at the end of December are recognized as revenue upon delivery which may occur in the following year.

Our business has experienced a higher proportion of costs in each subsequent quarter as a year progresses due to the overall growth of the business and operating costs to support that growth, including costs related to the opening of new retail stores and increased marketing and employee-related compensation to support growth. The fourth quarter, in particular, has historically experienced the highest amount of costs in a year to support the business demand in the quarter, even though a portion of the net revenue from that demand is not recognized

until January of the following year. In the future, seasonal trends may cause fluctuations in our quarterly results, which may impact the predictability of our business and operating results.

Furthermore, our rapid growth in recent years may obscure the extent to which seasonality trends have affected our business and may continue to affect our business. Accordingly, yearly or quarterly comparisons of our operating results may not be useful and our results in any particular period will not necessarily be indicative of the results to be expected for any future period. Seasonality in our business can also be affected by introductions of new or enhanced products and services, including the costs associated with such introductions.

Technological advances in vision care, including the development of new or improved products, as well as future drug development for the correction of vision-related problems, could significantly change how vision care may be conducted and make our existing products less attractive or even obsolete. The greater availability and acceptance, or reductions in the cost, of vision correction alternatives to prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses, such as corneal refractive surgery procedures, including radial keratotomy, photorefractive keratotomy, or PRK, and LASIK, may reduce the demand for our products, lower our sales, and thereby adversely impact our business and profitability.

Increasingly, in addition to the importance of their financial performance, companies are being judged by their performance on a variety of environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, matters, which are considered to contribute to the long-term sustainability of companies’ performance.

A variety of organizations measure the performance of companies on such ESG topics, and the results of these assessments are widely publicized. In addition, investment in funds that specialize in companies that perform well in such assessments are increasingly popular, and major institutional investors have publicly emphasized the importance of such ESG measures to their investment decisions. Topics taken into account in such assessments include, among others, the company’s efforts and impacts on climate change and human rights, ethics and compliance with law, and the role of the company’s board of directors in supervising various sustainability issues. In addition to the topics typically considered in such assessments, in the healthcare industry, issues of the public’s ability to access our products and solutions are of particular importance.

ESG is embedded in our core value and vision, including but not limited to the administration of our Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program in over 50 countries, and we actively take into consideration their expected impact on the sustainability of our business over time and the potential impact of our business on society and the environment. However, in light of investors’ increased focus on ESG matters, there can be no certainty that we will manage such issues successfully, or that we will successfully meet our customers’ or society’s expectations as to our proper role. If we fail to meet the ESG values, standards and metrics that we set for ourselves, or our articulated public benefit purposes, we may experience negative publicity and a loss of customers as a result, which will adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. See “—Risks Related to Our Existence as Public Benefit Corporation.”

Our success and future growth depend largely upon the continued services of our management team, including our Co-Founders and Co-Chief Executive Officers Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa. From time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team resulting from the hiring or departure of these executives. Our executive officers are employed on an at-will basis, which means they may terminate their employment with us at any time. The loss of one or more of our executive officers, or the failure by our executive team to effectively work with our employees and lead our company, could harm our business. We do not maintain key person life insurance with respect to any member of management or other employee.

In addition, our future success will depend, in part, upon our continued ability to identify and hire skilled employees with the skills and technical knowledge that we require, including software design and programming, eyewear design, marketing, merchandising, retail sales, operations, and other key management skills and knowledge. Such efforts will require significant time, expense, and attention as there is intense competition for such individuals, particularly in the New York City region, and new hires require significant training and time before they achieve full productivity, particularly in retail sales and Customer Experience. In addition to hiring new employees, we must continue to focus on developing, motivating, and retaining our best employees, all of whom are at-will employees in the U.S. If we fail to identify, recruit, and integrate strategic personnel hires, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected. We may need to invest significant amounts of cash and equity to attract and retain new employees, and we may never realize returns on these investments. If we hire employees from competitors or other companies, their former employers may attempt to assert that these employees or we have breached various legal obligations, resulting in a diversion of our time and resources. In addition, prospective and existing employees often consider the value of the equity awards they receive in connection with their employment. If the perceived value of our equity awards declines, experiences significant volatility, or increases such that prospective employees believe there is limited upside to the value of our equity awards, it may adversely affect our ability to recruit and retain key employees. If we are not able to effectively add and retain employees, our ability to achieve our strategic objectives will be adversely impacted, and our business and future growth prospects will be harmed.

We believe that our company culture has been critical to our success. Our public benefit corporation status and commitment to doing good distinguish us from our competitors and promote positive impact and equity among our employees and customers. Our company culture stands for fun, creativity, and doing good in the world. Our ability to continue to cultivate and maintain this culture is essential to our growth and continued success. We face a number of challenges that may affect our ability to sustain our corporate culture, including:

Our unique culture is one of our core characteristics that helps us to attract and retain key personnel. If we are not able to maintain our culture, we would have to incur additional costs and find alternative methods to recruit key employees, which in turn could cause our business, results of operations, and financial condition to be adversely affected.

We derive most of our revenue from the sale of one product, our glasses. Our glasses are sold in highly competitive markets with limited barriers to entry. Introduction by competitors of comparable products at lower price points, a maturing product lifecycle, a decline in consumer spending, or other factors could result in a material decline in our revenue. Because we derive most of our revenue from the sale of our glasses, any material decline in sales of our glasses would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and operating results.

We could be adversely impacted by the supply of defective products, including the infiltration of counterfeit products into the supply chain or product mishandling issues. Product liability or personal injury claims may be asserted against us with respect to any of the products we sell or services we provide. The provision of

professional eye care services by the vision care professionals employed by us or by independent professional corporations or similar entities or with whom we have contractual arrangements also increases our exposure to professional liability claims. There is a risk that these claims may exceed, or fall outside the scope of, our insurance coverage. In addition, a government or other regulatory agency could require us or one of our vendors or suppliers to remove a particular product from the market for, among other reasons, failure to adhere to product safety requirements or quality control standards. Product recalls can result in the disposal or write-off of merchandise, harm our reputation, and cause us to lose customers, particularly if those recalls cause consumers to question the performance, quality, safety, or reliability of our products. Any significant returns or warranty claims, as well as the timing of such returns or claims, could result in significant additional costs to us and could adversely affect our results of operations.

For our private label Scout by Warby Parker contact lenses, we rely on our contract manufacturer to control the quality and regulatory compliance of their contact lenses. We are not involved in the manufacture of these contact lenses we purchase from this vendor for sale to our customers. Our ability to seek recourse for liabilities and recover costs from this vendor depends on our contractual rights as well as on the financial condition and integrity of the vendor.

Moreover, we engage in further processing, packaging, and labeling activities at our third-party optical laboratories. If the products that we sell, including those that we process, package, or label, are defective or otherwise result in product liability or personal injury claims against us, our business could be adversely affected and we could be subject to adverse regulatory action. If our products or services do not meet applicable governmental safety standards or our customers’ expectations regarding quality or safety, we could experience lost sales and increased costs, be exposed to legal and reputational risk, and face fines or penalties which could materially adversely affect our financial results.

We allow our customers to return our products, subject to our refund policy, which allows any customer to return our products for any reason within the first 30 days of their purchase and receive a full refund. At the time of sale, we establish a reserve for returns, based on historical experience and expected future returns, which is recorded as a reduction of sales. If we experience a substantial increase in refunds, our cancellation reserve levels might not be sufficient and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be harmed.

In addition, we generally provide a 12-month no scratch guarantee on all of our glass lenses. If a customer has scratched lenses in the first 12 months, we replace the scratched lenses for free. We could incur significant costs to honor this guarantee. In addition, we may at any time or from time to time reduce or increase the term of this guarantee. Any negative publicity related to the perceived quality and safety of our products or to a change in the term of this guarantee could affect our brand image, decrease consumer and customer confidence and demand, and adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

Our results of operations could vary significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year because of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result, comparing our results of operations on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. In addition to other risk factors discussed in this section, factors that may contribute to the variability of our quarterly and annual results include:

We have funded our operations since inception primarily through net proceeds from the sale of redeemable convertible preferred stock and common stock and cash flows generated from operating activities. We cannot be certain when, or if, our operations will generate sufficient cash to fully fund our ongoing operations or the growth of our business. We intend to continue to make investments to support the development of our products and services and will require additional funds for such development. We may need additional funding for marketing expenses and to develop and expand sales resources, develop new features or enhance our products and services, improve our operating infrastructure, or acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we might need or may want to engage in future equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. Additional financing may not be available on terms favorable to us, if at all. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to invest in future growth opportunities, which could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In particular, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption in the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide, which may reduce our ability to access capital and negatively affect our liquidity in the future. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us, our ability to develop our products and services, support our business growth, and respond to business challenges could be significantly impaired, and our business may be adversely affected.

If we incur additional debt, the debt holders would have rights senior to holders of common stock to make claims on our assets, and the terms of any additional debt could include restrictive covenants that restrict our operations, including our ability to pay dividends on our common stock. Furthermore, if we issue additional equity securities, stockholders will experience dilution, and the new equity securities could have rights senior to those of our common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in the future will depend on numerous considerations, including factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing, or nature of any future issuances of debt or equity securities. As a result, our stockholders bear the risk of future issuances of debt or equity securities reducing the value of our common stock and diluting their interests.

Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to expand our services and grow our business in response to changing technologies, customer demands, and competitive pressures. In some circumstances going forward, we may choose to expand our services and grow our business through the acquisition of complementary businesses and technologies or by entering into partnerships or alliances with third parties rather than through internal development. The identification of suitable acquisition candidates or alliance partners can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly, and we may not be able to successfully complete identified transactions. In addition, if we pursue and complete an acquisition, we may not be able to successfully integrate the acquired business. The risks we face in connection with acquisitions include:

The occurrence of any of these foregoing risks could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations and expose us to unknown risks or liabilities.

Although the majority of our revenues is derived from cash-pay consumers, we have contracts with certain vision plans, including Medicare Advantage health plans, which subject us to a number of federal and state healthcare regulatory laws, including federal and state anti-kickback, false claims, self-referral, and other healthcare fraud and abuse laws, some of which apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including self-pay patients. The applicable federal and state healthcare laws that affect our ability to operate include, but are not limited to, the following:

Ensuring that our internal operations and future business arrangements with third parties comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. It is not always possible to identify and deter employee misconduct or business noncompliance, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent inappropriate conduct may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental laws and regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant penalties, including civil, criminal, and administrative penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from government-funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, integrity oversight, and reporting obligations to resolve allegations of noncompliance, disgorgement, imprisonment, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. Further, defending against any such actions can be costly, time-consuming and may require significant personnel resources. Therefore, even if we are successful in defending against any such actions that may be brought against us, our business may be impaired.

Eyeglasses and contact lenses are regulated as medical devices in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or FDCA, such medical devices must meet a number of regulatory requirements. We also engage in certain manufacturing, packaging, and labeling activities that subject us to direct oversight by the FDA under the FDCA and its implementing regulations. The FDA regulates, among other things, with respect to medical devices: design, development and manufacturing, testing, labeling, content, and language of instructions for use and storage; clinical trials; product safety; establishment registration and device listing; marketing, sales and distribution; premarket clearance, classification and approval; recordkeeping procedures; advertising and promotion; recalls and field safety corrective actions; postmarket surveillance, including reporting of deaths or serious injuries and malfunctions that, if they were to recur, could lead to death or serious injury; post-market approval studies; and product import and export. The regulations to which we are subject are complex and have tended to become more stringent over time. Regulatory changes could result in restrictions on our ability to carry on or expand our operations, higher than anticipated costs, or lower than anticipated sales. The FDA enforces its regulatory requirements through, among other means, periodic unannounced inspections. Failure to comply with applicable regulations could jeopardize our or our contract manufacturers’ ability to manufacture and sell our products and result in FDA enforcement actions such as: warning letters; fines; injunctions; civil penalties; termination of distribution; recalls or seizures of products; delays in the introduction of products into the market; total or partial suspension of production; refusal to grant future clearances or approvals; withdrawals or suspensions of clearances or approvals, resulting in prohibitions on sales of our products; and in the most serious cases, criminal penalties.

Providing telehealth services such as online vision testing through our Virtual Vision Test mobile app by Warby Parker mobile app are generally governed by state laws and regulations and are subject to extensive regulation

and oversight by state governmental authorities. Our ability to conduct telehealth services in a particular jurisdiction is directly dependent upon the applicable laws and regulations governing remote care, the practice of medicine and healthcare delivery in general in such location, which are subject to changing political, regulatory, and other influences. The extent to which a jurisdiction considers particular actions or relationships to comply with the applicable standard of care is subject to change and to evolving interpretations by states medical boards and state attorneys general, among others, each with broad discretion. Accordingly, we must monitor our compliance with law in every jurisdiction in which we operate, on an ongoing basis, and we cannot provide assurance that our activities and arrangements, if challenged, will be found to be in compliance with the law. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the relaxation of certain Medicare, Medicaid, and state licensure restrictions on the delivery of telehealth services, it is uncertain how long the relaxed policies will remain in effect, and, there can be no guarantee that once the COVID-19 pandemic is over that such restrictions will not be reinstated or changed in a way that adversely affects our business.

Additionally, it is possible that the laws and rules governing the practice of medicine, including remote care, in one or more jurisdictions may change in a manner deleterious to our business. For instance, a few states have imposed different, and, in some cases, additional, standards regarding the provision of services via telehealth. The unpredictability of this regulatory landscape means that sudden changes in policy regarding standards of care and reimbursement are possible. If a successful legal challenge or an adverse change in the relevant laws were to occur, and we were unable to adapt our business model accordingly, our operations in the affected jurisdictions would be disrupted, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We cannot assure you that we will not be subject to reprimands, sanctions, probation, fines, suspension or revocation of licenses, or our ability to offer telehealth services will not be challenged. We may also be the subject of administrative complaints in the future.

In several states where we operate, state corporate practice of medicine and optometry laws prohibit a business corporation from practicing medicine or optometry, directly employing physicians or optometrists to provide professional services, or exercising control over treatment decisions by such professionals. In these states, typically only medical professionals or a professional entity wholly owned by licensed physicians, optometrists, or other licensed medical professionals may provide medical care to patients. Many states also have some form of fee-splitting law, prohibiting certain business arrangements that involve the splitting or sharing of professional fees earned by a physician, optometrist or another medical professional for the delivery of healthcare services. Prohibitions on the practice of medicine or optometry and/or fee-splitting between licensed professionals and lay entities may be statutory or regulatory, or may be imposed through judicial or regulatory interpretation, and vary widely from state to state.

In many of our retail stores, we have contractual relationships with optometrists or professional entities that employ ophthalmologists and/or optometrists to provide medical services to our customers. In addition, we have contractual relationships with several professional corporations or similar entities that employ ophthalmologists who review test results and renew prescriptions, as appropriate, of users of both our Virtual Vision Test mobile app and In-Store Prescription Check service. Although we strive to monitor any changes to applicable state laws that may impact these arrangements, we cannot provide any assurance that governmental authorities may assert that we are engaged in the corporate practice of medicine or optometry, or that our contractual relationships with optometrists, ophthalmologists, or professional entities that employ such providers constitute unlawful fee-splitting. Moreover, we cannot predict whether changes will be made to existing laws, regulations, or interpretations, or whether new ones will be enacted or adopted, which could cause us to be out of compliance with these requirements. If our arrangements are found to violate corporate practice of medicine or optometry and/or fee-splitting laws, our provision of services through our contractual relationships with optometrists, ophthalmologists, or affiliated professional entities that employ such providers could be deemed impermissible, requiring us to do a restructuring or reorganization of our business, and we could be subject to injunctions or civil or, in some cases, criminal penalties, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our success depends to a significant degree on our ability to obtain, maintain, protect, and enforce our intellectual property rights, including those in our proprietary technologies, know-how, and brand. To protect our rights to our intellectual property, we rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, domain name registrations, confidentiality agreements, and other contractual arrangements with our employees, affiliates, clients, strategic partners, and others. However, the protective steps we have taken and plan to take may be inadequate to deter misappropriation or other violation of or otherwise protect our intellectual property rights. We may be unable to detect the unauthorized use of, or take appropriate steps to enforce, our intellectual property rights. Effective patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret protection may not be available to us or available in every jurisdiction in which we offer or intend to offer our services. Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property could harm our brand, devalue our proprietary technology and content, and adversely affect our ability to compete effectively. Further, even if we are successful, defending our intellectual property rights could result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

resolve these types of conflicts to our satisfaction. In some cases, litigation or other actions may be necessary to protect or enforce our trademarks and other intellectual property rights.

We generally enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and consultants, as well as confidentiality agreements with other third parties, including suppliers and other partners. However, we cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each party that has or may have had access to our proprietary information, know-how, and trade secrets. Moreover, no assurance can be given that these agreements will be effective in controlling access to our proprietary information or the distribution, use, misuse, misappropriation, reverse engineering, or disclosure of our proprietary information, know-how, and trade secrets. Further, these agreements may not prevent our competitors from independently developing technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to our offerings and capabilities. These agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach.

We may be required to spend significant resources to monitor and protect our intellectual property rights. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights and to protect our trade secrets. Litigation brought to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights could be costly, time-consuming, and distracting to management, and could result in the impairment or loss of portions of our intellectual property rights. Further, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights may be met with defenses, counterclaims, and countersuits attacking the validity and enforceability of our intellectual property rights, and if such defenses, counterclaims, or countersuits are successful, we could lose valuable intellectual property rights. Further, any changes in law or interpretation of any such laws, particularly intellectual property laws, may impact our ability to protect, register, or enforce our intellectual property rights. Our inability to protect our proprietary technology against unauthorized copying or use, as well as any costly litigation or diversion of our management’s attention and resources, could delay further sales or the implementation of our offerings and capabilities, impair the functionality of our offerings and capabilities, delay introductions of new offerings, result in our substituting inferior or more costly technologies into our offerings, or injure our reputation.

Domain names generally are regulated by internet regulatory bodies, and the regulation of domain names is subject to change. Regulatory bodies have and may continue to establish additional top-level domains, appoint additional domain name registrars, or modify the requirements for holding domain names. We may not be able to, or it may not be cost-effective to, acquire or maintain all domain names that utilize the name “Warby Parker” in all of the countries in which we currently conduct or intend to conduct business. If we lose the ability to use a domain name, we could incur significant additional expenses to market our products within that country, including the development of new branding. This could substantially harm our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Third parties may assert claims against us alleging that we infringe upon, misappropriate, dilute or otherwise violate their intellectual property rights, particularly as we expand our business and the number of products we offer. These risks have been amplified by the increase in third parties whose sole or primary business is to assert such claims. We may be particularly vulnerable to such claims, as companies having a substantial online presence are frequently subject to litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. As we gain an increasingly high public profile, the possibility of intellectual property rights claims against us grows. Our competitors and others may now and in the future have significantly larger and more mature patent portfolios than us. We rely on contracts and releases for ownership of copyrighted materials and the right to use images of individuals on our webpage and marketing material, and we may be subject to claims that we did not properly obtain rights, consent, a release, or permission to use certain content or imagery. Many potential litigants have the ability to dedicate substantial resources to the assertion of their intellectual property rights. Any claim of infringement by a third party, even those without merit, could cause us to incur substantial costs defending against the claim, could distract our management from our business, could require us to cease use of such intellectual property, and could create ongoing obligations if we are subject to agreements or injunctions (stipulated or imposed) preventing us from engaging in certain acts. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, we risk compromising our confidential information during this type of litigation. Our defense of any claim, regardless of its merit, could be expensive and time consuming and could divert management resources. We cannot predict the outcome of lawsuits and cannot

ensure that the results of any such actions will not have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Successful infringement claims against us could result in significant monetary liability or prevent us from selling some of our products. In addition, resolution of claims may require us to redesign or rebrand our products, license rights from third parties on potentially unfavorable terms, cease using certain brand names or other intellectual property rights altogether, make substantial payments for royalty or license fees, legal fees, settlement payments or other costs or damages, or admit liability. Such outcomes could encourage others to bring claims against us. To the extent we seek a license to continue offerings or operations found or alleged to infringe third-party intellectual property rights, such a license may be non-exclusive, and therefore our competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to us. In the event we are required to develop alternative, non-infringing technology, this could require significant time (during which we would be unable to continue to offer our affected offerings), effort and expense, and may ultimately not be successful. Any of these events could harm our business and cause our results of operations, liquidity, and financial condition to suffer.

We collect, process, store, and use a wide variety of data from current and prospective customers, including personal information, such as home addresses and geolocation, and health information related to their ophthalmic prescriptions. These activities are regulated by a variety of federal, state, local, and foreign privacy, data security, and data protection laws and regulations, which have become increasingly stringent in recent years.

Domestic privacy and data security laws are complex and changing rapidly. Many states have enacted laws regulating the online collection, use, and disclosure of personal information and requiring that companies implement reasonable data security measures. Laws in all states and U.S. territories also require businesses to notify affected individuals, governmental entities, and/or credit reporting agencies of certain security incidents affecting personal information. These laws are not consistent, and compliance with them in the event of a widespread data breach is complex and costly.

Further, the CCPA took effect on January 1, 2020. The CCPA gives California residents expanded rights related to their personal information, including the right to access and delete their personal information, and receive detailed information about how their personal information is used and shared. The CCPA also created restrictions on “sales” of personal information that allow California residents to opt-out of certain sharing of their personal information and may restrict the use of cookies and similar technologies for advertising purposes. Our e-commerce platform, including our websites and mobile applications, rely on these technologies and could be adversely affected by the CCPA’s restrictions. The CCPA prohibits discrimination against individuals who exercise their privacy rights, provides for civil penalties for violations, and creates a private right of action for data breaches that is expected to increase data breach litigation. Additionally, a new California ballot initiative, the California Privacy Rights Act, or CPRA, was recently passed in California. The CPRA will restrict use of certain categories of sensitive personal information that we handle; further restrict the use of cross-context behavioral advertising techniques on which our products may rely in the future; establish restrictions on the retention of personal information; expand the types of data breaches subject to the private right of action; and establish the California Privacy Protection Agency to implement and enforce the new law, as well as impose administrative fines. The majority of the CPRA’s provisions will go into effect on January 1, 2023, and additional compliance investment and potential business process changes will likely be required. Similar laws have been proposed in other states and at the federal level, reflecting a trend toward more stringent privacy legislation in the United States. For example, on March 2, 2021, Virginia enacted the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, or CDPA, a comprehensive privacy statute that shares similarities with the CCPA, CPRA, and legislation proposed in other states. Some observers have noted that the CCPA, CPRA, and CDPA could mark the beginning of a trend toward more stringent privacy legislation in the United States. To the extent multiple state-level laws are introduced with inconsistent or conflicting standards and there is no federal law to preempt such laws, compliance with such laws could be difficult and costly to achieve and we could be subject to fines and penalties in the event of non-compliance.

Additionally, we are subject to certain health information privacy and security laws as a result of the health information that we receive in connection with our products and services. These laws and regulations include

HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH, and their implementing regulations which establishes privacy, security, and breach notification standards for protected health information processed by health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and certain healthcare providers, collectively referred to as covered entities, and the business associates with whom such covered entities contract for services, as well as their covered subcontractors. HIPAA requires us to develop and maintain policies and procedures governing PHI that is used or disclosed, and to implement administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect PHI, including PHI maintained, used, and disclosed in electronic form. These safeguards include employee training, identifying business associates with whom covered entities need to enter into HIPAA-compliant contractual arrangements and various other measures. Ongoing implementation and oversight of these measures involves significant time, effort, and expense and we may have to dedicate additional time and resources to ensure compliance with HIPAA requirements. Additionally, it is not always possible to identify and deter misuse by our employees and other third parties, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent noncompliance may not be effective in preventing all misuse, breaches, or violations. For example, as discussed above, in 2018, we experienced a credential stuffing attack in which malicious third parties used credentials compromised in data breaches suffered by other companies to access accounts on our platform and received notice that OCR would be investigating the incident and our compliance with the Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules and requesting certain information related to the incident and our compliance with the Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. We continue to work on a resolution with OCR. OCR enforcement activity can result in financial liability and reputational harm, and responses to such enforcement activity can consume significant internal resources.

HIPAA imposes mandatory penalties for certain violations. Penalties for such violations of HIPAA and its implementing regulations include civil monetary penalties of up to $59,522 per violation, not to exceed approximately $1.8 million for violations of the same standard in a single calendar year (subject to periodic adjustments for inflation). However, a single breach incident can result in violations of multiple standards, which could result in significant fines. A person who knowingly obtains or discloses individually identifiable health information in violation of HIPAA may face a criminal penalty of up to $50,000 and up to one year of imprisonment. The criminal penalties increase if the wrongful conduct involves false pretenses or the intent to sell, transfer, or use identifiable health information for commercial advantage, personal gain, or malicious harm. HIPAA also authorizes state attorneys general to file suit on behalf of their residents. While HIPAA does not create a private right of action that would allow individuals to sue in civil court for a HIPAA violation, its standards have been used as the basis for the duty of care in state civil suits, such as those for negligence or recklessness in misusing personal information. Many states in which we operate and in which our customers reside also have laws that protect the privacy and security of health information, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts. Where state laws are more protective, we have to comply with the stricter provisions. In addition to fines and penalties imposed upon violators, some of these state laws also afford private rights of action to individuals who believe their personal information has been misused, such as the CCPA.

In addition, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, imposes significant restrictions on the ability to make telephone calls or send text messages to mobile telephone numbers without the prior consent of the person being contacted. Claims that we have violated the TCPA could be costly to litigate, and if successful, expose us to substantial statutory damages.

Foreign privacy laws are also rapidly changing, have become more stringent in recent years, and may increase the costs and complexity of offering our offerings in new geographies. In Canada, where we operate, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or PIPEDA, and various provincial laws require that companies give detailed privacy notices to consumers, obtain consent to use personal information, with limited exceptions, allow individuals to access and correct their personal information, and report certain data breaches. In addition, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, or CASL, prohibits email marketing without the recipient’s consent, with limited exceptions. Failure to comply with PIPEDA, CASL, or provincial privacy or data protection laws could result in significant fines and penalties or possible damage awards. In the European Economic Area, the General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR, imposes strict obligations on the ability to collect, analyze, transfer, and otherwise process personal data. This includes requirements with respect to accountability, transparency, obtaining individual consent, international data transfers, security, and confidentiality and personal data breach notifications, which may restrict our processing activities. The GDPR provides for monetary penalties of up to €20 million or 4% of an organization’s annual worldwide revenue, whichever is greater, for violations. Separate, restrictive obligations relating to electronic marketing and the use of cookies which may limit our ability to

advertise. Following Brexit, UK law largely mirrors the obligations and fines under the GDPR, e.g. fines up to the greater of £17.5 million or 4% of global turnover. In addition to the foregoing, a breach of privacy legislation could result in regulatory investigations, reputational damage, orders to cease/ change processing of data, enforcement notices, and/ or assessment notices (for a compulsory audit). Companies may also face civil claims including representative actions and other class action type litigation (where individuals have suffered harm), potentially amounting to significant compensation or damages liabilities, as well as associated costs, diversion of internal resources, and reputational harm. Furthermore, regulatory guidance is evolving and monitoring developments and compliance will lead to increased costs.

In addition, privacy advocates and industry groups have regularly proposed, and may propose in the future, self-regulatory standards by which we are legally or contractually bound. If we fail to comply with these contractual obligations or standards, we may face substantial liability or fines. Consumer resistance to the collection and sharing of the data used to deliver targeted advertising, increased visibility of consent or “do not track” mechanisms as a result of industry regulatory or legal developments, the adoption by consumers of browser settings or “ad-blocking” software, and the development and deployment of new technologies could materially impact our ability to collect data or reduce our ability to deliver relevant promotions or media, which could materially impair the results of our operations.

Further, we are subject to the PCI Data Security Standard, which is a multifaceted security standard that is designed to protect credit card account data as mandated by payment card industry entities. We rely on third-party vendors to handle PCI matters and to ensure PCI compliance. Despite our compliance efforts, we may become subject to claims that we have violated the PCI Data Security Standard, based on past, present, and future business practices, which could have an adverse impact on our business and reputation.

Compliance with these domestic, foreign, and any other applicable privacy and data security laws and regulations is a rigorous and time-intensive process, and we may be required to put in place additional mechanisms to ensure compliance with the new data protection rules. Despite our efforts, we may not be successful in achieving compliance with the rapidly evolving privacy, data security, and data protection requirements discussed above. While we strive to comply with applicable laws and regulations relating to privacy and data protection in all material respects, there is no assurance that we will not be subject to claims that we have violated applicable laws or codes of conduct, that we will be able to successfully defend against such claims or that we will not be subject to significant fines and penalties in the event of non-compliance. Any actual or perceived non-compliance could result in litigation and proceedings against us by governmental entities, customers or others, fines and civil or criminal penalties, limited ability or inability to operate our business, offer services, or market our business in certain jurisdictions, negative publicity and harm to our brand and reputation, and reduced overall demand for our products and services. Such occurrences could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Our general liability insurance may not cover all potential claims to which we are exposed and may not be adequate to indemnify us for the full extent of our potential liabilities.

We are subject to general business regulations and laws as well as regulations and laws specifically governing the internet and e-commerce. Existing and future regulations and laws could impede the growth of the internet, e-commerce or mobile commerce. These regulations and laws may involve taxes, tariffs, privacy and data security, anti-spam, content protection, electronic contracts and communications, consumer protection, and internet neutrality. It is not clear how existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, sales and other taxes, and consumer privacy apply to the internet as the vast majority of these laws were adopted prior to the advent of the internet and do not contemplate or address the unique issues raised by the internet or e-commerce. It is possible that general business regulations and laws, or those specifically governing the internet or e-commerce, may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. We cannot be sure that our practices have complied, comply, or will comply fully with all such laws and regulations. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with any of these laws or regulations could result in damage to our reputation, a loss in business and proceedings, or actions against us by governmental entities or others. Any such proceeding or action could hurt our reputation, force us to spend significant amounts in defense of these proceedings, distract our management, increase our costs of doing

business, decrease the use of our sites by customers and suppliers, and may result in the imposition of monetary liability. We may also be contractually liable to indemnify and hold harmless third parties from the costs or consequences of non-compliance with any such laws or regulations. In addition, it is possible that governments of one or more countries may seek to censor content available on our website or may even attempt to completely block access to our website. Adverse legal or regulatory developments could substantially harm our business. In particular, in the event that we are restricted, in whole or in part, from operating in one or more countries, our ability to retain or increase our customer base may be adversely affected, and we may not be able to maintain or grow our net revenue and expand our business as anticipated.

If the FDA changes its position with respect to our marketing of the Virtual Vision Test mobile application, or if the Enforcement Policy Guidance is revoked, and we continue to market the Virtual Vision Test mobile app without 510(k) clearance, we could be subject to FDA enforcement action, including a Warning Letter, recalls, market withdrawals, and fines or penalties, and we may be required to cease distribution of the Virtual Vision Test mobile app until we have obtained 510(k) clearance from FDA, if ever, which may adversely affect our business operations, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are also subject to ongoing FDA regulation related to our Virtual Vision Test mobile application, including certain requirements under the Quality System Regulation and postmarket reporting requirements, although some FDA requirements are waived during the COVID-19 public health emergency under the Enforcement Policy Guidance. If we fail to comply with any applicable FDA regulatory requirements we could be subject to FDA enforcement action, including a Warning Letter, recalls, and fines or penalties, which may adversely affect our business operations and financial condition.

obtain 510(k) clearances prior to marketing these products, while requiring manufacturers of certain extended-wear contact lenses to obtain approval of a PMA.

The FDA can delay, limit, or deny marketing authorization of a device for many reasons, including: inability to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA or the applicable regulatory entity or notified body that products are substantially equivalent to a predicate device or are safe and effective for their intended uses, serious and unexpected adverse device effects experienced by users, insufficient clinical or other data needed to support marketing authorization, inability to demonstrate that the clinical and other benefits of the device outweigh the risks, failure of the manufacturing process or facilities to meet applicable requirements, and changes in regulatory policies and procedures.

In the United States, any modification to a product that receives FDA marketing authorization may require the manufacturer to submit a new 510(k) premarket notification and obtain clearance or to submit a PMA and obtain FDA approval prior to implementing the change. For example, any modification to a 510(k)-cleared device that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a major change in its intended use, design or manufacture, generally requires a new 510(k) clearance or other marketing authorization. The FDA requires every manufacturer to make such determinations in the first instance, but the FDA may review any manufacturer’s decision. The FDA may not agree with a manufacturer’s decisions regarding whether new clearances or approvals are necessary. If we obtain any marketing authorizations from the FDA, we may make modifications or add additional features in the future that we believe do not require a new 510(k) clearance or other marketing authorization. If the FDA disagrees with our determination and requires us to seek new marketing authorizations for the modifications for which we have concluded that new marketing authorizations are unnecessary, we may be required to cease marketing or to recall the modified product until we obtain such marketing authorization, and we may be subject to significant regulatory fines or penalties.

To date, we have not obtained authorization from the FDA to market any product in the United States, and we generally intend to rely on our third-party vendors and contract manufacturers, including Menicon, which produces our private label Scout by Warby Parker contact lenses, to have obtained and maintained the necessary marketing authorizations from the FDA for the products we sell. Our failure, or failure by such third parties, to obtain the proper FDA marketing authorizations for our products could lead to FDA enforcement actions, such as market withdrawals, product recalls or civil or criminal penalties that could have a material adverse effect on our business.

In the United States, the methods used in, and the facilities used for, the manufacture of medical devices must comply with the FDA’s current Good Manufacturing Practices for medical devices, known as the Quality System Regulation, or QSR, which is a complex regulatory scheme that covers the procedures and documentation of the design, testing, production, process controls, quality assurance, labeling, packaging, handling, storage, distribution, installation, servicing, and shipping of medical devices. Furthermore, manufacturers of medical devices are required to verify that their suppliers maintain facilities, procedures, and operations that comply with our quality standards and applicable regulatory requirements. The FDA enforces the QSR through periodic announced or unannounced inspections of medical device manufacturing facilities, which may include the facilities of subcontractors. Our products are also subject to similar state regulations and various laws and regulations of foreign countries governing manufacturing. Our third-party manufacturers may not take the necessary steps to comply with applicable regulations, which could cause delays in the delivery of our products. In addition, we engage in certain relabeling and repackaging activities with respect to our frames and sunglasses products, and these activities require us to comply with the FDA’s Unique Device Identification System Final Rule, or UDI Final Rule. Among other things, the UDI final rule obligates device labelers to include unique device identifiers, or UDIs, on certain medical device labels and packages, and to submit certain data pertaining to device labeling to the FDA’s Global Unique Device Identification Database, unless an exception applies. The UDI Final Rule’s requirements were intended to be phased in over a seven-year period, according to established compliance for certain types of classified devices. The established deadline for labelers of certain Class I and unfinished medical devices to comply with the UDI requirements was originally set for September 24, 2020. However, on July 1, 2020, the FDA published revised final guidance stating that the FDA does not intend to enforce the UDI Final Rule’s requirements with respect to these products before September 24, 2022.

Failure to comply with applicable FDA requirements or later discovery of previously unknown problems with our products or manufacturing processes could result in, among other things: warning letters or untitled letters; fines, injunctions or civil penalties; suspension or withdrawal of approvals; seizures or recalls of our products; total or partial suspension of production or distribution; administrative or judicially imposed sanctions; the FDA’s refusal to grant pending or future clearances or approvals for medical devices; refusal to permit the import or export of our products; and criminal prosecution of us, our suppliers, or our employees. Any of these actions could significantly and negatively affect supply of our products. If any of these events occurs, our reputation could be harmed, we could be exposed to product liability claims and we could lose customers and experience reduced sales and increased costs.

In addition, the FDA and foreign regulatory bodies have the authority to require the recall of commercialized products in the event of material deficiencies or defects in design or manufacture of a product or in the event that a product poses an unacceptable risk to health. The FDA’s authority to require a recall must be based on a finding that there is reasonable probability that the device could cause serious injury or death. Manufacturers may also choose to voluntarily recall a product if any material deficiency is found. A government mandated or voluntary recall by us could occur as a result of an unacceptable risk to health, component failures, malfunctions, manufacturing defects, labeling or design deficiencies, packaging defects or other deficiencies or failures to comply with applicable regulations. Product defects or other errors may occur in the future. Depending on the corrective action the manufacturer takes to redress a product’s deficiencies or defects, the FDA may require the manufacturer to obtain new marketing authorizations prior to resuming marketing or distribution of the corrected device. Seeking such clearances or approvals may delay the ability to replace the recalled devices in a timely manner. Moreover, if we or our third-party manufacturers do not adequately address problems associated with our products, we may face additional regulatory enforcement action.

Moreover, in the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been, and we expect there will continue to be, a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the healthcare system, including cost-containment measures intended to reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of healthcare. For example, in the U.S., the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or collectively, ACA, substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers, and significantly impacted the U.S. medical device industry. Since its enactment, there have been judicial, executive, and congressional challenges to certain aspects of the ACA. On June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court

dismissed the most recent judicial challenge to the ACA brought by several states without specifically ruling on the constitutionality of the ACA. Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, President Biden issued an executive order to initiate a special enrollment period from February 15, 2021 through August 15, 2021 for purposes of obtaining health insurance coverage through the ACA marketplace. The executive order also instructed certain governmental agencies to review and reconsider their existing policies and rules that limit access to healthcare, including among others, reexamining Medicaid demonstration projects and waiver programs that include work requirements, and policies that create unnecessary barriers to obtaining access to health insurance coverage through Medicaid or the ACA. In addition, the Budget Control Act of 2011, as amended by subsequent legislation, further reduces Medicare payments to providers by two percent through fiscal year 2030, with the exception of a temporary suspension May 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021. Furthermore, new legislation could be adopted in the future that further limits payments for our products from governmental payors. It is possible that additional governmental action will be taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Companies are required to maintain certain records of recalls and corrections, even if they are not reportable to the FDA. We or our third-party manufacturers may initiate voluntary withdrawals or corrections for our products that we or our third-party manufacturers determine do not require notification of the FDA. If the FDA disagrees with such determinations, it could require the relevant manufacturer to report those actions as recalls and levy enforcement action. A future recall announcement could harm our reputation with customers, potentially lead to product liability claims against us and negatively affect our sales. Any corrective action, whether voluntary or involuntary, as well as defending ourselves in a lawsuit, will require the dedication of our time and capital, distract management from operating our business, and may harm our reputation and financial results.

From time to time, legislation is drafted and introduced in Congress that could significantly change the statutory provisions governing the regulation of medical devices. In addition, the FDA may change its policies, adopt additional regulations or revise existing regulations, or take other actions, which may prevent or delay marketing authorization of our products or impact our ability to modify any products for which we or our third-party manufacturers have already obtained marketing authorizations on a timely basis. Over the last several years, the FDA has proposed reforms to its 510(k) clearance process, and such proposals could include increased requirements for clinical data and a longer review period, or could make it more difficult for manufacturers to utilize the 510(k) clearance process for their products. For example, in November 2018, FDA officials announced steps that the FDA intended to take to modernize the premarket notification pathway under Section 510(k) of the FDCA. Among other things, the FDA announced that it planned to develop proposals to drive manufacturers utilizing the 510(k) pathway toward the use of newer predicates. These proposals included plans to potentially sunset certain older devices that were used as predicates under the 510(k) clearance pathway, and to potentially publish a list of devices that have been cleared on the basis of demonstrated substantial equivalence to predicate devices that are more than 10 years old. These proposals have not yet been finalized or adopted, although the FDA may work with Congress to implement such proposals through legislation. Accordingly, it is unclear the extent to which any proposals, if adopted, could impose additional regulatory requirements on us that could delay our ability to obtain 510(k) clearances in the future, increase the costs of compliance, or restrict our ability to maintain any marketing authorizations that we may obtain, or otherwise create competition that may negatively affect our business.

More recently, in September 2019, the FDA issued revised final guidance describing an optional “safety and performance based” premarket review pathway for manufacturers of “certain, well-understood device types” to demonstrate substantial equivalence under the 510(k) clearance pathway by showing that such device meets objective safety and performance criteria established by the FDA, thereby obviating the need for manufacturers to compare the safety and performance of their medical devices to specific predicate devices in the clearance process. The FDA maintains a list device types appropriate for the “safety and performance based” pathway and continues to develop product-specific guidance documents that identify the performance criteria for each such device type, as well as recommended testing methods, where feasible. For example, in March 2020, the FDA issued a draft guidance describing the testing performance criteria that could support a substantial equivalence determination with respect to certain soft (hydrophilic) daily-wear contact lenses, including the contract manufactured lenses we currently resell under our Scout by Warby Parker label. If the draft guidance is finalized,

manufacturers of such contact lenses would have the option to submit a 510(k) under the safety and performance-based pathway, rather than submitting a traditional 510(k) premarket notification.

In addition, FDA regulations and guidance are often revised or reinterpreted by the FDA in ways that may significantly affect our business and our products. Any new statutes, regulations, or revisions or reinterpretations of existing regulations may impose additional costs or lengthen review times of any product candidates or make it more difficult to obtain marketing authorizations for, manufacture, market, or distribute any product candidate we are developing. For example, in April 2020, the FDA published a guidance document entitled “Enforcement Policy for Remote Ophthalmic Assessment and Monitoring Devices During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency,” which among other things, stated FDA’s intention to temporarily exercise enforcement discretion with respect to certain types modifications made to specified ophthalmic assessment and monitoring device types.

We cannot determine what effect changes in regulations, statutes, legal interpretation or policies, when and if promulgated, enacted or adopted may have on our business in the future. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may be subject to enforcement action and we may not achieve or sustain profitability

The ability of the FDA to review and authorize the sale of new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including government budget and funding levels; its ability to hire and retain key personnel and accept the payment of user fees; statutory, regulatory, and policy changes; and other events that may otherwise affect the FDA’s ability to perform routine functions. Average review times at the FDA have fluctuated in recent years as a result. In addition, government funding of other government agencies that fund research and development activities is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable. Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may also slow the time necessary for new devices to be reviewed and/or authorized for marketing by necessary government agencies. For example, over the last several years, including for 35 days beginning on December 22, 2018, the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, have had to furlough critical FDA employees and stop critical activities.

Separately, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 10, 2020, the FDA announced its intention to postpone inspections of foreign manufacturing facilities and products, and on March 18, 2020, the FDA temporarily postponed routine surveillance inspections of domestic manufacturing facilities. Subsequently, on July 10, 2020, the FDA announced its intention to resume certain on-site inspections of domestic manufacturing facilities subject to a risk-based prioritization system. The FDA intends to use this risk-based assessment system to identify the categories of regulatory activity that can occur within a given geographic area, ranging from mission critical inspections to resumption of all regulatory activities. Other regulatory authorities may adopt similar restrictions or other policy measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs, or if global health concerns continue to prevent the FDA or other regulatory authorities from conducting business as usual or conducting inspections, reviews, or other regulatory activities, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA to timely review and process regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

In addition to the vision care and healthcare laws and regulations discussed above, we are subject to numerous federal, state, local, and foreign laws and governmental regulations including those relating to environmental protection, personal injury, intellectual property, consumer product safety, building, land use and zoning requirements, workplace regulations, wage and hour, privacy and information security, consumer protection laws, immigration, and employment law matters. If we fail to comply with existing or future laws or regulations, or if these laws or regulations are violated by importers, manufacturers or distributors, we may be subject to governmental or

judicial fines or sanctions, as well as monetary judgment, injunctions, and loss of intellectual property rights in civil litigation, while incurring substantial legal fees and costs. In addition, our capital expenditures could increase due to remediation measures that may be required if we are found to be noncompliant with any existing or future laws or regulations.

Further, the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, has authority to investigate and prosecute practices that constitute “unfair trade practices,” “deceptive trade practices,” or “unfair methods of competition.” State attorneys general typically have comparable authority, and many states also permit private plaintiffs to bring actions on the basis of these laws. Federal and state consumer protection laws and regulations may apply to our operations and retail offers.

Our transactions with our suppliers and vendors operating in foreign jurisdictions, including China, Italy, Vietnam, and Japan and our quality assurance presence in China may subject us to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, and trade sanction laws, and similar anti-corruption, anti-bribery, and international trade laws, any violation of which could create substantial liability for us and also harm our reputation. Our optical laboratories in the United States subject us to various federal, state, and local laws, regulations and other requirements pertaining to protection of the environment, public health and associate safety, including regulations governing the management of hazardous substances and the maintenance of safe working conditions, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended. These laws also apply generally to all our properties. Our failure to comply with these laws can subject us to criminal and civil liabilities. In connection with our philanthropic endeavors, we must also comply with additional federal, state, and local tax and other laws and regulations.

Additionally, because we accept debit and credit cards for payment, we are subject to the Payment Card Industry, or PCI, Standard issued by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, with respect to payment card information. The PCI Standard contains compliance guidelines with regard to our security surrounding the physical and electronic storage, processing and transmission of cardholder data. Compliance with the PCI Standard and implementing related procedures, technology and information security measures requires significant resources and ongoing attention. Our PCI compliance is largely handled by our third-party payment processor since most of our customer payment information is not stored in our systems. However, we are subject to the risk of changes to or disruption in this provider’s service. Costs and potential problems and interruptions associated with the implementation of new or upgraded systems and technology such as those necessary to achieve compliance with the PCI Standard or with maintenance or adequate support of existing systems could also disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our operations. Any material interruptions or failures in our payment-related systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. If there are amendments to the PCI Standard, the cost of re-compliance could also be substantial and we may suffer loss of critical data and interruptions or delays in our operations as a result.

We use third-party open-source software in connection with the development and deployment of our software applications. From time to time, companies that use third-party open-source software have faced claims challenging the use of such open-source software and their compliance with the terms of the applicable open-source license. We may be subject to suits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe to be open-source software or claiming non-compliance with the applicable open-source licensing terms. Some open-source licenses require end-users who distribute or make available across a network software and services that include open-source software to make available all or part of such software, which in some circumstances could include valuable proprietary code. While we employ practices designed to monitor our compliance with the licenses of open-source software and try to ensure that we do not use any of the open-source software in a manner that would require us to disclose our proprietary source code, we cannot guarantee that we will be successful. We cannot guarantee that all open-source software is reviewed prior to use in our platform, or that our developers have not incorporated (and will not in the future incorporate)open-source software into our products without our knowledge. Furthermore, there are an increasing number of open-source software license types, almost none of which have been tested in a court of law, resulting in a dearth of guidance regarding the proper legal interpretation of such licenses. As a result, there is a risk that open-source software licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to market or provide our products and services. If we were to receive a claim of non-compliance with the terms of any of our open-source licenses, we

may be required to publicly release certain portions of our proprietary source code or expend substantial time and resources to re-engineer some or all of our software.

In addition, the use of third-party open-source software typically carries greater technical and legal risks than the use of third-party commercial software because open-source licensors generally do not provide support, warranties, or controls on the functionality or origin of the software. To the extent that our platform depends upon the successful operation of open-source software, any undetected errors or defects could prevent the deployment or impair the functionality of our systems and injure our reputation. Use of open-source software may also present additional security risks because the public availability of such software may make it easier for hackers and other third parties to compromise our platform. Any of the foregoing could be harmful to our business, financial condition, or results of operations, and could help our competitors develop offerings that are similar to or better than ours.

Our business depends on customers accessing our products and services via a mobile device or a personal computer, and the internet. We may operate in jurisdictions that provide limited internet connectivity. Internet access and access to a mobile device or personal computer are frequently provided by companies with significant market power that could take actions that degrade, disrupt, or increase the cost of consumers’ ability to access our products and services. In addition, the internet infrastructure that we and our customers rely on in any particular geographic area may be unable to support the demands placed upon it and could interfere with the speed and availability of our products and services. Any such failure in internet or mobile device or computer accessibility, even for a short period of time, could adversely affect our results of operations.

Governmental agencies in any of the countries in which we or our customers are located could block access to or require a license for our mobile applications, website, or the internet generally for a number of reasons, including security, confidentiality, or regulatory concerns. In addition, companies may adopt policies that prohibit their employees from using our products and services. If companies or governmental entities block, limit, or otherwise restrict customers from accessing our products and services, our business could be negatively impacted, the number of customers could decline or grow more slowly, and our results of operations could be adversely affected.

We are subject to the FCPA, U.S. domestic bribery laws, and other anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws in the countries in which we conduct activities. Anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws have been enforced aggressively in recent years and are interpreted broadly to generally prohibit companies, their employees, and their third-party intermediaries from authorizing, offering, or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments or benefits to recipients in the public or private sector. If we expand our international sales and business, we may engage with business partners and third-party intermediaries to obtain necessary permits, licenses, and other regulatory approvals. In addition, we or our third-party intermediaries may have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or state-owned or affiliated entities. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of these third-party intermediaries, our employees, representatives, contractors, partners, and agents, even if we do not explicitly authorize such activities.

We cannot assure you that all of our third-party intermediaries, employees, representatives, contractors, partners, and agents will not take actions in violation of anti-corruption laws, for which we may be ultimately held responsible. As we expand our international business, our risks under these laws may increase.

Detecting, investigating, and resolving actual or alleged violations of anti-corruption laws can require a significant diversion of time, resources, and attention from senior management. In addition, noncompliance with anti-corruption, anti-bribery, or anti-money laundering laws could subject us to whistleblower complaints,

investigations, sanctions, settlements, prosecution, enforcement actions, fines, damages, other civil or criminal penalties or injunctions, suspension or debarment from contracting with certain persons, reputational harm, adverse media coverage, and other collateral consequences. If any subpoenas or investigations are launched, or governmental or other sanctions are imposed, or if we do not prevail in any possible civil or criminal proceeding, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be harmed. In addition, responding to any action will likely result in a materially significant diversion of management’s attention and resources and significant defense costs and other professional fees.

Our operations are subject to various national, state, and local environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations that govern, among other things, the health and safety of our employees and the end-users of our products and the materials used in, and the recycling of, our products and their packaging. Non-compliance with, or liability related to, these laws and regulations, which tend to become more stringent over time, could result in substantial fines or penalties, injunctive relief, civil, or criminal sanctions, and could expose us to costs of investigation or remediation, as well as tort claims for property damage or personal injury.

In addition, a number of governmental authorities, both in the United States and abroad, have considered, and are expected to consider, legislation aimed at reducing the amount of plastic non-recyclable waste. Programs have included banning certain types of products, mandating certain rates of recycling and/or the use of recycled materials, imposing deposits or taxes on single-use plastic bags, paper bags, reusable bags, and packaging materials. Such legislation, as well as voluntary initiatives, aimed at reducing the level of plastic wastes could result in increased cost of packaging for our products or otherwise require us to alter our current packaging and bagging practices. Additional regulatory efforts addressing other environmental or safety concerns in the future could similarly impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

From time to time, we may be subject to claims, lawsuits, government investigations, and other proceedings involving products liability, competition and antitrust, intellectual property, privacy, false advertising, consumer protection, securities, tax, labor and employment, commercial disputes, and other matters that could adversely affect our business operations and financial condition. As we have grown, we have seen a rise in the number and significance of these disputes and inquiries. Litigation and regulatory proceedings may be protracted and expensive, and the results are difficult to predict. Certain of these matters include speculative claims for substantial or indeterminate amounts of damages and include claims for injunctive relief. Additionally, our litigation costs could be significant. Adverse outcomes with respect to litigation or any of these legal proceedings may result in significant settlement costs or judgments, penalties and fines, or require us to modify our products or services, all of which could negatively affect our revenue growth. The results of litigation, investigations, claims, and regulatory proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, and determining reserves for pending litigation and other legal and regulatory matters requires significant judgment. There can be no assurance that our expectations will prove correct, and even if these matters are resolved in our favor or without significant cash settlements, these matters, and the time and resources necessary to litigate or resolve them, could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We purchase all of the inputs for our products, including glass frames, cellulose acetate, prescription lenses, sun lenses, demo lenses, hinge and core kits and branded logos, packaging materials and other components, parts, and raw materials, directly or indirectly from domestic and international suppliers. For our business to be successful, our suppliers must be willing and able to provide us with inputs in substantial quantities, in compliance with regulatory requirements, at acceptable costs and on a timely basis. Our ability to obtain a sufficient selection

or volume of inputs on a timely basis at competitive prices could suffer as a result of any deterioration or change in our supplier relationships or events that adversely affect our suppliers.

We typically do not enter into long-term contracts with our suppliers and, as such, we operate without significant contractual assurances of continued supply, pricing or access to inputs. Any of our suppliers could discontinue supplying us with desired inputs in sufficient quantities or offer us less favorable terms on future transactions for a variety of reasons. The benefits we currently experience from our suppliers relationships could be adversely affected if our suppliers:

Events that adversely impact our suppliers could impair our ability to obtain adequate and timely supplies. Such events include, among others, difficulties or problems associated with our suppliers’ business, the financial instability and labor problems of suppliers, inputs quality and safety issues, natural or man-made disasters, inclement weather conditions, war, acts of terrorism and other political instability, economic conditions, shipment issues, the availability of their raw materials, and increased production costs. Our suppliers may be forced to reduce their production, shut down their operations or file for bankruptcy. The occurrence of one or more of these events could impact our ability to get products to our customers, result in disruptions to our operations, increase our costs and decrease our profitability.

We also source inputs directly from suppliers outside of the United States, including China, Italy, Vietnam, and Japan. Global sourcing and foreign trade involve numerous factors and uncertainties beyond our control including increased shipping costs, the imposition of additional import or trade restrictions, including legal or economic restrictions on overseas suppliers’ ability to produce and deliver inputs, increased custom duties and tariffs, unforeseen delays in customs clearance of goods, more restrictive quotas, loss of a most favored nation trading status, currency exchange rates, transportation delays, port of entry issues and foreign government regulations, political instability, and economic uncertainties in the countries from which we or our suppliers source our products. For example, our inputs sourcing could be impacted by current and future travel restrictions and/or the shut-down of certain businesses globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our sourcing operations may also be hurt by health concerns regarding infectious diseases in countries in which our inputs are produced. Moreover, negative press or reports about internationally sourced inputs may sway public opinion, and thus customer confidence, away from the products sold in our stores. These and other issues affecting our international suppliers or internationally sourced inputs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Material changes in the pricing practices of our suppliers could negatively impact our profitability. Our suppliers may also increase their pricing if their raw materials become more expensive. The inputs used to manufacture our products are subject to availability constraints and price volatility. Our suppliers may pass the increase in sourcing costs to us through price increases, thereby impacting our margins.

In addition, some of our suppliers may not have the capacity to supply us with sufficient inputs to keep pace with our growth plans, especially if we plan to manufacture significantly greater amounts of inventory. In such cases, our ability to pursue our growth strategy will depend in part upon our ability to expand capacity with existing suppliers or develop new supplier relationships. One of our lens suppliers as well as a third-party optical laboratory we utilize are owned by a vertically integrated company with retail divisions that compete with us and, as such, we are exposed to the risk that these suppliers may not be willing, or may become unwilling, to sell their products or services to us on acceptable terms, or at all.

We rely on a limited number of suppliers to supply the majority of the inputs to our products and are thus exposed to concentration of supplier risk. For both the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, approximately 23% of cost of goods sold were from our top five suppliers. If we were to lose any significant supplier, we may be unable

to establish additional or replacement sources for our products that meet our quality controls and standards in a timely manner or on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Further, as a few major vendors dominate the contact lenses market, the risks associated with finding alternative sources to the contact lenses we source from them may be exacerbated.

We rely on a limited number of third-party suppliers and contract manufacturers for the components that go into the manufacturing of our products. In particular, over half of the cellulose acetate used to produce our frames is provided by a single supplier. We also assemble and fulfill glasses at our optical laboratories as well as at a limited number of third-party optical laboratories. Further, we rely on a single logistics partner to fulfill orders for our Home Try-On program and a limited number of other logistics partners to transport and deliver our products. Our reliance on a limited number of contract manufacturers and logistics partners for our products increases our risks of being unable to deliver our products in a timely and cost-effective manner. In the event of interruption from any of our contract manufacturers or our own fulfillment capabilities, we may not be able to increase capacity from other sources or develop alternate or secondary sources without incurring material additional costs and substantial delays. Our business could be adversely affected if one or more of our manufacturers is impacted by a natural disaster, an epidemic such as the current COVID-19 outbreak, or other interruption at a particular location. In particular, the current COVID-19 outbreak has caused, and will likely continue to cause, interruptions in the development, manufacturing (including the sourcing of key components), and shipment of our products, which could adversely impact our revenue, gross margins, and operating results. Such interruptions may be due to, among other things, temporary closures of our facilities or those of our contract manufacturers, and other vendors in our supply chain; restrictions on travel or the import/export of goods and services from certain ports that we use; and local quarantines.

If we experience a significant increase in demand for our products that cannot be satisfied adequately through our existing manufacturing channels, or if we need to replace an existing manufacturer, we may be unable to supplement or replace them on terms that are acceptable to us, which may undermine our ability to deliver our products in a timely manner. For example, if we require additional manufacturing support, it may take a significant amount of time to identify a manufacturer that has the capability and resources to build our products to our specifications in sufficient volume. Identifying suitable manufacturers and logistics partners is an extensive process that requires us to become satisfied with their quality control, technical capabilities, responsiveness and service, financial stability, regulatory compliance, and labor and other ethical practices. Accordingly, a loss of any of our contract manufacturers or logistics partners could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.

The convenient payment mechanisms provided by our business are key factors contributing to the development of our business. We rely on third parties, including Stripe, Affirm, Inc., and Moneris Solutions (in Canada), for elements of our payment processing infrastructure to accept payments from customers and Coupa, in connection with our banking partners, to remit payments to suppliers. These third parties may refuse to renew our agreements with them on commercially reasonable terms or at all. If these companies become unwilling or unable to provide these services to us on acceptable terms or at all, our business may be disrupted. For certain payment methods, including credit and debit cards and Apple Pay®, we generally pay interchange fees and other processing and gateway fees, and such fees result in significant costs. In addition, online payment providers are under continued pressure to pay increased fees to banks to process funds, and there is no assurance that such online payment providers will not pass any increased costs on to us. If these fees increase over time, our operating costs will increase, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Future failures of the payment processing infrastructure underlying our business could cause customers to lose trust in our payment operations and could cause them to instead turn to our competitors’ products and services. If the quality or convenience of our payment processing infrastructure declines as a result of these limitations or for any other reason, the attractiveness of our business to customers could be adversely affected. If we are forced to

migrate to other third-party payment service providers for any reason, the transition would require significant time and management resources, and may not be as effective, efficient, or well-received by our customers.

Amazon Web Services, or AWS, is a third-party provider of cloud infrastructure services. We outsource substantially all of our core architecture to AWS. AWS provides the cloud computing infrastructure we use to host our website and mobile applications, serve our customers and support our operations and many of the internal tools we use to operate our business. Our website, mobile applications and internal tools use computing, storage, data transfer, and other functions and services provided by AWS. We do not have control over the operations of the facilities of AWS that we use. AWS’ facilities may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, cybersecurity attacks, terrorist attacks, power losses, telecommunications failures, and other events beyond our control. In the event that AWS’ or any other third-party provider’s systems or service abilities are hindered by any of the events discussed above, particularly in a region where our website is mainly hosted, our ability to operate our business may be impaired. A decision to close the facilities without adequate notice or other unanticipated problems or disruptions could result in lengthy interruptions to our business. All of the aforementioned risks may be exacerbated if our business continuity and disaster recovery plans prove to be inadequate.

Additionally, data stored with AWS may experience threats or attacks from computer malware, ransomware, viruses, social engineering (including phishing attacks), denial of service or other attacks, employee theft or misuse, and general hacking. Any of these security incidents could result in unauthorized access to, damage to, disablement or encryption of, use or misuse of, disclosure of, modification of, destruction of, or loss of our data or our customers’ data or disrupt our ability to provide our products and services, including due to any failure by us to properly configure our AWS environment. Our business’ continuing and uninterrupted performance is critical to our success. Customers may become dissatisfied by any system failure that interrupts our ability to provide our products and services to them. We may not be able to easily switch our AWS operations to another cloud or other data center provider if there are disruptions or interference with our use of AWS, and, even if we do switch our operations, other cloud and data center providers are subject to the same risks. Sustained or repeated system failures would reduce the attractiveness of our products and services, thereby reducing net revenue. Moreover, negative publicity arising from these types of disruptions could damage our reputation and may adversely impact our business.

Our customer agreement with AWS remains in effect until (i) terminated for convenience, which we may do for any reason by providing AWS notice and closing our account and which AWS may do for any reason by providing us at least 30 days’ notice or (ii) terminated for cause, which either party may do if the other party has an uncured material breach and which AWS may do immediately upon notice. AWS does not have an obligation to renew its agreements with us on terms acceptable to us. Although alternative data center providers could host our business on a substantially similar basis to AWS, transitioning the cloud infrastructure currently hosted by AWS to alternative providers could potentially be disruptive, and we could incur significant one-time costs. If we are unable to renew our agreement with AWS on commercially acceptable terms, our agreement with AWS is prematurely terminated, or we add additional infrastructure providers, we may experience costs or downtime in connection with the transfer to, or the addition of, new data center providers. If AWS or other infrastructure providers increase the costs of their services, our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Our success depends on our ability to attract consumers to our website, mobile applications, and select application partners and convert them into customers in a cost-effective manner. We depend, in large part, on search engines, social media platforms, digital application stores, content-based online advertising, and other online sources for traffic to our website, mobile applications, and select application partners.

With respect to search engines, we are included in search results as a result of both paid search listings, where we purchase specific search terms that result in the inclusion of our advertisement, and free search listings, which depend on algorithms used by search engines. For paid search listings, if one or more of the search engines or other online sources on which we rely for purchased listings modifies or terminates its relationship with us, our expenses could rise, we could lose consumers and traffic to our website could decrease, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Further, our competitors bid on terms like “Warby Parker” as paid keywords, and consumers searching for us could instead by directed to a third-party’s website, which could lead to reduced traffic to our website, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. For free search listings, if search engines on which we rely for algorithmic listings modify their algorithms, our websites may appear less prominently or not at all in search results, which could result in reduced traffic to our websites.

Our ability to maintain and increase the number of consumers directed to our products from digital platforms is not entirely within our control. Search engines, social media platforms, and other online sources often revise their algorithms and introduce new advertising products. If one or more of the search engines or other online sources on which we rely for traffic to our website and our mobile app were to modify its general methodology for how it displays our advertisements or keyword search results, resulting in fewer consumers clicking through to our website and our mobile applications, our business and operating results are likely to suffer. For example, Apple recently moved to “opt-in” privacy models, requiring consumers to expressly consent to receiving targeted ads, which may reduce the value of inventory on its iOS mobile application platform. In addition, if our online display advertisements are no longer effective or are not able to reach certain consumers due to consumers’ use of ad-blocking software, our business and operating results could suffer. Furthermore, changes in consumer acceptance or usage of our online sources for traffic could adversely impact the effectiveness of our advertising.

Additionally, changes in regulations could limit the ability of search engines and social media platforms, including, but not limited to, Google and Facebook, to collect data from users and engage in targeted advertising, making them less effective in disseminating our advertisements to our target customers. For example, the proposed Designing Accounting Safeguards to Help Broaden Oversight and Regulations on Data (DASHBOARD) Act would mandate annual disclosure to the SEC of the type and “aggregate value” of user data used by harvesting companies, such as, but not limited to, Facebook, Google and Amazon, including how net revenue is generated by user data and what measures are taken to protect the data. If the costs of advertising on search engines and social media platforms increase, we may incur additional marketing expenses or be required to allocate a larger portion of our marketing spend to other channels and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

The marketing of our products depends on our ability to cultivate and maintain cost-effective and otherwise satisfactory relationships with digital application stores, in particular, those operated by Apple. As we grow, we may struggle to maintain cost-effective marketing strategies, and our Customer Acquisition Costs could rise substantially, particularly if our customer mix skews towards fewer repeat purchases by existing customers and more new customers that require higher costs to acquire. Furthermore, because many of our customers access our products through our mobile applications, we depend on the Apple App Store to distribute our mobile applications. Apple has broad discretion to change their respective terms and conditions applicable to the distribution of our mobile applications, including those relating to the amount of (and requirement to pay) certain fees associated with purchases facilitated by Apple through our mobile applications, to interpret their respective terms and conditions in ways that may limit, eliminate or otherwise interfere with our ability to distribute mobile app through their stores, the features we provide and the manner in which we market in-application products. We cannot assure you that Apple will not limit, eliminate or otherwise interfere with the distribution of our mobile applications, the features we provide and the manner in which we market our mobile applications. To the extent it does so, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We procure third-party insurance policies to cover various operations-related risks including employment practices liability, workers’ compensation, property and business interruptions, cybersecurity and data breaches, crime, directors’ and officers’ liability, and general business liabilities. We rely on a limited number of insurance providers,

and should such providers discontinue or increase the cost of coverage, we cannot guarantee that we would be able to secure replacement coverage on reasonable terms or at all. If our insurance carriers change the terms of our policies in a manner not favorable to us, our insurance costs could increase. Further, if the insurance coverage we maintain is not adequate to cover losses that occur, or if we are required to purchase additional insurance for other aspects of our business, we could be liable for significant additional costs. Additionally, if any of our insurance providers becomes insolvent, it would be unable to pay any operations-related claims that we make.

If the amount of one or more operations-related claims were to exceed our applicable aggregate coverage limits, we would bear the excess, in addition to amounts already incurred in connection with deductibles, self-insured retentions, co-insurance, or otherwise paid by our insurance policy. Insurance providers have raised premiums and deductibles for many businesses and may do so in the future. As a result, our insurance and claims expense could increase, or we may decide to raise our deductibles or self-insured retentions when our policies are renewed or replaced. Our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected if the cost per claim, premiums, the severity of claims, or the number of claims significantly exceeds our historical experience and coverage limits; we experience a claim in excess of our coverage limits; our insurance providers fail to pay on our insurance claims; we experience a claim for which coverage is not provided; or the number of claims under our deductibles or self-insured retentions differs from historical averages.

As of December 31, 2020, we had a federal net operating loss carryforward of $105.8 million, which will begin to expire in 2031. Furthermore, we had state net operating loss carryforwards of $76.7 million, which will begin to expire in 2031. However $14.5 million of the federal net operating loss is available for indefinite use. Portions of these net operating loss carryforwards could expire unused and be unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities. Under the legislation enacted in 2017, commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or Tax Act, as modified by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES Act, U.S. federal net operating losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such federal net operating losses in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020, is limited. It is uncertain how various states will respond to the Tax Act and the CARES Act. For state income tax purposes, there may be periods during which the use of net operating loss carryforwards is suspended or otherwise limited, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed. For example, California recently imposed limits on the usability of California state net operating losses to offset taxable income in tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2020 and before January 1, 2023.

In addition, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, and corresponding provisions of state law, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” (very generally defined as a greater than 50% change, by value, in the corporation’s equity ownership by certain shareholders or groups of shareholders over a rolling three-year period), the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes to offset its post-change income or taxes may be limited. We completed a Section 382 analysis in February of 2021. We experienced an ownership change in August 2012 and $9.4 million of NOLs were subject to the limitation. However, all of those NOLs were available by the year ended December 31, 2017. We may experience additional ownership changes in the future as a result of subsequent shifts in our stock ownership, including upon completion of this offering, some of which may be outside of our control. If we undergo another ownership change, we may incur additional limitations on our ability to utilize our NOLs existing at the time of the ownership change. Future regulatory changes could also limit our ability to utilize our NOLs. To the extent we are not able to offset future taxable income with our NOLs, our cash flows may be adversely affected. We have recorded a full valuation allowance against our U.S. deferred tax assets, which includes net operating loss carryforwards.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and Canada. Our effective tax rate could be adversely affected due to several factors, including:

As and if we expand the scale of our international business activities, any changes in the United States or foreign taxation of such activities may increase our worldwide effective tax rate and harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In particular, new income or other tax laws or regulations could be enacted at any time, which could adversely affect our business operations and financial performance. Further, existing tax laws and regulations could be interpreted, modified, or applied adversely to us. For example, the Tax Act enacted many significant changes to the U.S. tax laws. Future guidance from the IRS and other tax authorities with respect to the Tax Act may affect us, and certain aspects of the Tax Act could be repealed or modified in future legislation. In addition, the recent presidential and congressional elections in the United States could result in significant changes in, and uncertainty with respect to, tax legislation, regulation and government policy directly affecting our business or indirectly affecting us because of impacts on our customers and suppliers. We are currently unable to predict whether such changes will occur and, if so, the ultimate impact on our business. To the extent that such changes have a negative impact on us, our suppliers or our customers, including as a result of related uncertainty, these changes may materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

Due to the global nature of the Internet, it is possible that various states or foreign countries might attempt to impose additional or new regulation on our business or levy additional or new sales, income, or other taxes relating to our activities. Tax authorities at the international, federal, state, and local levels are currently reviewing the appropriate treatment of companies engaged in e-commerce and digital services. New or revised international, federal, state, or local tax regulations or court decisions may subject us or our customers to additional sales, income and other taxes. For example, on June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a 5-4 majority decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc., 17-494 where the Court held, among other things, that a state may require an out-of-state seller with no physical presence in the state to collect and remit sales taxes on goods the seller ships to consumers in the state, overturning existing court precedent. Other new or revised taxes and, in particular, digital taxes, sales taxes, VAT, and similar taxes could increase the cost of doing business online and decrease the attractiveness of selling products over the Internet. New taxes and rulings could also create significant increases in internal costs necessary to capture data and collect and remit taxes. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.

We have elected to be classified as a public benefit corporation under Delaware law. As a public benefit corporation, we are required to balance the financial interests of our stockholders, the best interests of those materially affected by our conduct, and the specific public benefits set forth in our current certificate of incorporation. In addition, there is no assurance that the expected positive impact from being a public benefit

corporation will be realized. Accordingly, being a public benefit corporation and complying with our related obligations could negatively impact our ability to provide the highest possible return to our stockholders.

As a public benefit corporation, we are required to disclose to stockholders a statement at least biennially as to our promotion of the public benefit identified in our current certificate of incorporation and of the best interests of those materially affected by our conduct and such statement shall include, among other things, our assessment of our success in achieving our specific public benefit purpose. If we are not timely or are unable to provide this statement, or if the report is not viewed favorably by parties doing business with us or regulators or others reviewing our credentials, or we fail to make progress towards our specific public benefit purpose, our reputation and status as a public benefit corporation may be harmed.

As a public benefit corporation, our board of directors has a duty to balance (i) the pecuniary interest of our stockholders, (ii) the best interests of those materially affected by our conduct, and (iii) specific public benefits identified in our charter documents. While we believe our public benefit designation and obligation will benefit our stockholders, in balancing these interests, our board of directors may take actions that do not maximize stockholder value. Any benefits to stockholders resulting from our public benefit purposes may not materialize within the timeframe we expect or at all and may have negative effects. For example:

While directors of traditional corporations are required to make decisions they believe to be in the best interests of their stockholders, directors of a public benefit corporation have a fiduciary duty to consider not only the stockholders’ pecuniary interests, but also the company’s specific public benefit and the best interests of stakeholders materially affected by the company’s actions. Under Delaware law, directors are shielded from liability for breach of these obligations if they make informed and disinterested decisions that are not such that no person of ordinary, sound judgment would approve. Thus, unlike traditional corporations which must focus exclusively on stockholder value, our directors are not merely permitted, but obligated, to consider our specific public benefit and the interests of other stakeholders. See “Description of Capital Stock—Public Benefit Corporation Status.” In the event of a conflict between the interests of our stockholders and the interests of our specific public benefit or our other stakeholders, our directors must only make informed and disinterested decisions that are not such that no person of ordinary, sound judgment would approve; thus, there is no guarantee such a conflict would be resolved in favor of our stockholders, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline.

Stockholders of a Delaware public benefit corporation (if they, individually or collectively, own at least 2% of its outstanding capital stock or, upon the completion of our listing, the lesser of such percentage or shares of at least $2 million in market value) are entitled to file a derivative lawsuit claiming that its directors failed to balance stockholder and public benefit interests. This potential liability does not exist for traditional corporations.

Therefore, we may be subject to the possibility of increased derivative litigation, which would require the attention of management and, as a result, may adversely impact management’s ability to effectively execute our strategy. Any such derivative litigation may be costly and have an adverse impact on our business operations, financial conditions, and results of operations.

This is not an underwritten initial public offering of our Class A common stock. This listing of our Class A common stock on the NYSE differs from an underwritten initial public offering in several significant ways, which include, but are not limited to, the following:

Such differences from an underwritten initial public offering could result in a volatile trading price for our Class A common stock and uncertain trading volume, which may adversely affect your ability to sell any Class A common stock that you may purchase.

The listing of our Class A common stock and the registration of the Registered Stockholders’ shares of Class A common stock is a novel process that is not an underwritten initial public offering. We have engaged Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, or Goldman Sachs; Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, or Morgan Stanley; and Allen & Company LLC, or Allen & Company; to serve as our financial advisors, and Baird, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Cowen and Company, LLC, Evercore Group L.L.C., and Telsey Advisory Group LLC to serve as our additional financial advisors. There will be no book building process and no price at which underwriters initially sell shares to the public to help inform efficient and sufficient price discovery with respect to the opening trades on the NYSE.

While in the past we have completed private capital raises, as there has not been a recent sustained history of trading in our common stock in a private placement market prior to listing, NYSE listing rules require that a designated market maker, or DMM, consult with our financial advisors in order to effect a fair and orderly opening of trading of our Class A common stock without coordination with us, consistent with the federal securities laws in connection with our direct listing. Accordingly, the DMM will consult with Morgan Stanley in order for the DMM to effect a fair and orderly opening of our Class A common stock on the NYSE, without coordination with us, consistent with the federal securities laws in connection with our direct listing. In addition, the DMM may also consult with our other financial advisors, also without coordination with us, in connection with our direct listing. Pursuant to Rule 7.35A(g) of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, and based upon information known to them at the time, Morgan Stanley and our other financial advisors are expected to provide input to the DMM regarding their understanding of the ownership of our outstanding common stock and pre-listing selling and buying interest in our Class A common stock that they become aware of from potential investors and holders of our Class A common stock, including after consultation with certain investors (which may include certain of the Registered Stockholders). Such investor consultation by the financial advisors would not involve any coordination with or outreach on behalf of the Company. The financial advisors will not engage in a book building process as would typically be undertaken by underwriters in a registered initial public offering. Instead, the input that the financial advisors provide to the DMM will be based on information that they become aware of from potential investors and holders of our Class A common stock (which may include certain of the Registered Stockholders) in connection with investor education regarding the process and mechanics of the direct listing, the receipt of buy and sell orders and other customary brokerage activities undertaken without coordination with us. The DMM, in consultation with our financial advisors, is also expected to consider the information in the section titled “Sale Price History of Our Capital Stock.” Based on information provided to the NYSE, the opening public price of our Class A common stock on the NYSE will be determined by buy and sell orders collected by the NYSE from broker-dealers, and the NYSE is where buy orders can be matched with sell orders at a single price. Based on such orders, the

DMM will determine an opening price for our Class A common stock pursuant to NYSE rules. However, because our financial advisors will not have engaged in a book building process, they will not be able to provide input to the DMM that is based on or informed by that process. For more information, see the section titled “Plan of Distribution.”

Moreover, prior to the opening trade, there will not be a price at which underwriters initially sell shares of Class A common stock to the public as there would be in an underwritten initial public offering. The absence of a predetermined initial public offering price could impact the range of buy and sell orders collected by the NYSE from various broker-dealers. Consequently, upon listing on the NYSE, the trading price of our Class A common stock may be more volatile than in an underwritten initial public offering and could decline significantly and rapidly.

Further, because of our listing process, individual investors may have greater influence in setting the opening public trading price and subsequent public trading prices of our Class A common stock on the NYSE and may participate more in our initial and subsequent trading, leading to an increased amount of smaller orders at numerous prices, for example, than is typical for a traditional underwritten initial public offering with more institutional investor influence. These factors could result in more volatility in the public trading price of our Class A common stock and an unsustainable trading price if the price of our Class A common stock significantly rises upon listing and institutional investors believe our Class A common stock is worth less than retail investors, in which case the price of our Class A common stock may decline over time. Further, if the public trading price of our Class A common stock is above the level that investors determine is reasonable for our Class A common stock, some investors may attempt to short our Class A common stock after trading begins, which would create additional downward pressure on the public trading price of our Class A common stock. There will likely be more ability for such investors to short our Class A common stock in early trading than is typical for a traditional underwritten public offering given increased availability of our Class A common stock on the trading markets in part due to the lack of contractual lock-up agreements or other restrictions on transfer. To the extent that there is a lack of awareness among retail investors, such lack of awareness could reduce the value of our Class A common stock and cause volatility in the public trading price of our Class A common stock.

The trading price of our Class A common stock following the listing also could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to numerous factors in addition to the ones described in the preceding Risk Factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:

In addition, stock markets with respect to newly public companies, particularly companies in the retail and technology industry, have experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the stock prices of these companies. Stock prices of many companies, including retail and technology companies, have fluctuated in a manner often unrelated to the operating performance of those companies. These fluctuations may be even more pronounced in the trading market for our Class A common stock shortly following the listing of our Class A common stock on the NYSE as a result of the supply and demand forces described above. In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the trading price for their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. If we were to become involved in securities litigation, it could subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our business, and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Prior to the registration and listing of our Class A common stock on the NYSE, there has been no public market for our capital stock. There has been limited trading of our capital stock historically in private transactions. In the section titled “Sale Price History of our Capital Stock,” we have provided the historical sales prices of our non-voting common stock and voting common stock in private transactions. All Co-Founder Shares were reclassified into Class B common stock and all outstanding shares of our Series A common stock and Series B common stock, other than the Co-Founder Shares, were reclassified into Class A common stock, immediately following the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Given the limited history of sales, this information may have little or no relation to broader market demand for our Class A common stock and thus the initial trading price of our Class A common stock on the NYSE once trading begins. As a result, you should not place undue reliance on these historical sales prices as they may differ materially from the opening trading prices and subsequent trading prices of our Class A common stock on the NYSE. For more information about how the initial listing price on the NYSE will be determined, see the section titled “Plan of Distribution.”

We currently expect our Class A common stock to be listed and traded on the NYSE. Prior to listing on the NYSE, there has been no public market for our Class A common stock. Moreover, consistent with Regulation M and other federal securities laws applicable to our listing, we have not consulted with Registered Stockholders or other existing stockholders regarding their desire or plans to sell shares in the public market following the listing or discussed with potential investors their intentions to buy our Class A common stock in the open market. While our Class A common stock may be sold after our listing on the NYSE by the Registered Stockholders pursuant to this prospectus or by our other existing stockholders in accordance with Rule 144 of the Securities Act, unlike an underwritten initial public offering, there can be no assurance that any Registered Stockholders or other existing stockholders will sell any of their shares of Class A common stock, and there may initially be a lack of supply of, or demand for, Class A common stock on the NYSE. Conversely, there can be no assurance that the Registered Stockholders and other existing stockholders will not sell all of their shares of Class A common stock, resulting in an oversupply of our Class A common stock on the NYSE. In the case of a lack of supply of our Class A common stock, the trading price of our Class A common stock may rise to an unsustainable level. Further, institutional investors may be discouraged from purchasing our Class A common stock if they are unable to purchase a block of our Class A common stock in the open market in a sufficient size for their investment objectives due to a potential unwillingness of our existing stockholders to sell a sufficient amount of Class A common stock at the price offered by such institutional investors and the greater influence individual investors have in setting the trading price. If institutional investors are unable to purchase our Class A common stock in a sufficient amount for their investment objectives, the market for our Class A common stock may be more volatile without the influence of long-term institutional investors holding significant amounts of our Class A common stock. In the case of a lack of demand for our Class A common stock, the trading price of our Class A common stock could decline significantly and rapidly after our listing. Therefore, an active, liquid, and orderly trading market for our Class A common stock may not initially develop or be sustained, which could significantly depress the trading price of our Class A common stock and/or result in significant volatility, which could affect your ability to sell your shares of Class A common stock.

In addition to the supply and demand and volatility factors discussed above, sales of a substantial number of shares of our Class A common stock into the public market, particularly sales by our Co-Founders, directors, executive officers, and principal stockholders, or the perception that these sales might occur in large quantities, could cause the trading price of our Class A common stock to decline. None of our securityholders are subject to any contractual lock-up or other contractual restriction on the transfer or sale of their shares.

In addition to the shares of Class A common stock that may be immediately sold by the Registered Stockholders pursuant to this prospectus, approximately 35,095,604 of these shares may be immediately sold by our other existing stockholders under Rule 144 since such shares held by such other stockholders will have been beneficially owned by non-affiliates for at least one year. Moreover, once we have been a reporting company subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act for 90 days and assuming the availability of certain public information about us, (i) non-affiliates who have beneficially owned our common stock for at least six months may rely on Rule 144 to sell their shares of common stock, and (ii) our directors, executive officers, and other affiliates who have beneficially owned our common stock for at least six months, including certain of the shares of Class A common stock covered by this prospectus to the extent not sold hereunder, will be entitled to sell their shares of our Class A common stock subject to volume limitations under Rule 144.

In addition, we filed a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act to register all shares subject to outstanding stock options or reserved for future issuance under our equity compensation plans. As of June 30, 2021, we had 1,925,352 options outstanding that, if fully exercised, would result in the issuance of 1,925,352 shares of Class A common stock. 1,640,242 of these options were exercisable as of June 30, 2021. As of June 30, 2021, we also had 1,981,866 shares of Class A common stock subject to RSU awards granted prior to June 30, 2021 for which the time-based vesting condition had not been satisfied as of such date. These shares will be able to be freely sold in the public market upon issuance, subject to applicable vesting requirements and compliance by affiliates with Rule 144.

Future transfers by either of our Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Class B common stock will generally result in those shares converting to Class A common stock, subject to limited exceptions, such as certain transfers effected for estate planning purposes. In addition, each share of Class B common stock will convert automatically into one share of Class A common stock upon the earlier of (i) the transfer of such share to a person not in the same Permitted Ownership Group (as defined in the Amended Charter) as the holder, (ii) October 1, 2031 or (iii) with respect to the shares held by any person in Neil Blumenthal’s Permitted Ownership Group, (A) such time as Neil Blumenthal is removed or resigns from the Board of Directors, or otherwise ceases to serve as a Director on the Board of Directors, (B) such time as Neil Blumenthal ceases to be either an employee, officer or consultant of the Corporation or any of our subsidiaries, or (C) the date that is 12 months after the death or disability of Neil Blumenthal, (2) with respect to any shares held by any person in David Gilboa’s Permitted Ownership Group, (iv) such time as David Gilboa is removed or resigns from the Board of Directors, or otherwise ceases to serve as a Director on the Board of Directors, (B) such time as David Gilboa ceases to be either an employee, officer or consultant of the Corporation or any of our subsidiaries, or (C) the date that is 12 months after the death or disability of David Gilboa. The conversion of Class B common stock to Class A common stock will have the effect, over time, of increasing the relative voting power of the Co-Founder and Co-CEO who retains their shares over the long term.

Pursuant to our Amended Charter, we are authorized to issue 150,000,000 shares of Class C common stock, none of which are outstanding following the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Although we have no current plans to issue any shares of Class C common stock in the future, we may issue shares of Class C common stock for a variety of corporate purposes, including financings, acquisitions, investments, dividends and equity incentives to our employees, consultants and directors. Under our Amended Charter, our board of directors will have the authority, without stockholder approval except as required by the listing standards of the NYSE, to issue additional shares of our capital stock. Because the Class C common stock carries no voting rights, is not convertible into any other capital stock and is not listed for trading on an exchange or registered for sale with the SEC, shares of Class C common stock may be less liquid and less attractive to any future recipients of these shares than shares of Class A common stock, although we may seek to list the Class C common stock for trading and register shares of Class C common stock for sale in the future. In addition, if we issue shares of Class C common stock in the future, such issuances would have a dilutive effect on the economic interests of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock.

We cannot predict whether our multi-class structure will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our Class A common stock, in adverse publicity or other adverse consequences. For example, certain index providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multiple-class share structures in certain of their indexes. S&P, Dow Jones and FTSE Russell have each announced changes to their eligibility criteria for inclusion of shares of public companies on certain indices, including the S&P 500. These changes exclude companies with multiple classes of shares of common stock from being added to these indices. In addition, several stockholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of multiple class structures. As a result, the multi-class structure of our capital stock may prevent the inclusion of our Class A common stock in these indices and may cause

stockholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance practices or otherwise seek to cause us to change our capital structure. Any such exclusion from indices could result in a less active trading market for our Class A common stock. Any actions or publications by stockholder advisory firms critical of our corporate governance practices or capital structure could also adversely affect the trading price of our Class A common stock.

The multi-class structure of our common stock additionally has the effect of concentrating voting control with our Class B common stockholders, who are our Co-Founders and Co-CEOs. This concentrated control could delay, defer, or prevent a change of control, merger, consolidation, takeover, or other business combination involving us that you, as a stockholder, may otherwise support, and could allow us to take actions that some of our stockholders do not view as beneficial, which could reduce the trading price of our Class A common stock. Furthermore, this concentrated control could also discourage a potential investor from acquiring our Class A common stock due to the limited voting power of such stock relative to the Class B common stock and might harm the trading price of our Class A common stock. Any issuance of Class C common stock could also cause the trading price of our Class A common stock to decline.

From time to time, we may provide guidance via public disclosures regarding our projected business or financial performance. However, any such projections involve risks, assumptions, and uncertainties, and our actual results could differ materially from such projections. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified in these Risk Factors, some or all of which are not predictable or within our control. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could adversely impact our performance, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any projections, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. In addition, various news sources, bloggers, and other publishers often make statements regarding our historical or projected business or financial performance, and you should not rely on any such information even if it is attributed directly or indirectly to us.

Equity research analysts do not currently provide coverage of our Class A common stock, and we cannot assure that any equity research analysts will adequately provide research coverage of our Class A common stock after the listing of our Class A common stock on the NYSE. A lack of adequate research coverage may harm the liquidity and trading price of our Class A common stock. To the extent equity research analysts do provide research coverage of our Class A common stock, we will not have any control over the content and opinions included in their reports. The trading price of our Class A common stock could decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our stock or publish other unfavorable commentary or research. If one or more equity research analysts cease coverage of our company, or fail to regularly publish reports on us, the demand for our Class A common stock could decrease, which in turn could cause our trading price or trading volume to decline.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not intend to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We expect to retain future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. Any future determination to pay dividends on our capital stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors. Accordingly, you must rely on the sale of your Class A common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gain on your investment.

We may issue our capital stock or securities convertible into our capital stock from time to time in connection with a financing, acquisition, investments, or otherwise. Additional issuances of our stock will result in dilution to existing holders of our stock. In August 2021, we issued 178,572 shares of Series A common stock to the Warby Parker Impact Foundation. Our board of directors also authorized up to an additional 1,071,432 shares of Series A

common stock, or any shares into which the Series A common stock will be reclassified, for issuance in installments over time and from time to time, in each case, subject to our board of directors’ discretion and approval, to the Warby Parker Impact Foundation or such other nonprofit entity designated by our board of directors, which will result in such dilution. Also, to the extent outstanding stock options to purchase our stock are exercised or RSUs settle, there will be further dilution. The amount of dilution could be substantial depending upon the size of the issuance or exercise. Any such issuances could result in substantial dilution to our existing stockholders and cause the trading price of our Class A common stock to decline.

We will not be required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until the year following our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC. This assessment will need to include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm will be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC following the date we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” Our compliance with Section 404 will require that we incur substantial expenses and expend significant management efforts. We will need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge and compile the system and process documentation necessary to perform the evaluation needed to comply with Section 404.

In addition to the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the audit of our financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, as described in this prospectus, subsequent testing by us or our independent registered public accounting firm, may reveal additional deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses. During the evaluation and testing process of our internal controls, if we identify additional material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we will be unable to certify that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. We cannot assure you that there will not be additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting in the future. Any failure to maintain internal control over financial reporting could severely inhibit our ability to accurately report our financial condition or results of operations. If we are unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm determines we have additional material weakness or significant deficiency in our internal control over financial reporting, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our Class A common stock could decline, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Failure to remedy any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, or to implement or maintain other effective control systems required of public companies, could also restrict our future access to the capital markets.

We are not currently required to comply with the rules of the SEC implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and are therefore not required to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for that purpose. As a public company, we are required to comply with the SEC’s rules implementing Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which will require management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of control over financial reporting. Though we are required to disclose changes made in our internal controls and procedures on a quarterly basis, we will not be required to make our first annual assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the year following our first annual report

required to be filed with the SEC. As an emerging growth company, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the later of the year following our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC or the date we are no longer an emerging growth company. If our internal control over financial reporting is not effective, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue an adverse report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.

We identified material weaknesses in the design and operation of our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

The material weaknesses identified relate to (i) information technology general controls, in the areas of user access and program change management, over our key accounting, reporting, and proprietary systems, and (ii) certain controls within our financial reporting processes to enforce segregation of duties, prevent and detect errors, support timely reconciliation of certain key accounts, and enable review of manual journal entries. We have concluded that these material weaknesses arose because, as a private company, we did not have the necessary business processes, systems, personnel, and related internal controls necessary to satisfy the accounting and financial reporting requirements of a public company.

As part of our plan to remediate these material weaknesses, we have made progress in several actions taken to remediate the material weakness, including development of IT general controls to manage access and program changes across our key systems and the execution of improvements to application controls within our proprietary system; and continued hiring of additional qualified accounting and financial reporting personnel to support division of responsibilities; and we continue to take actions including implementation of additional review controls and processes and requiring timely account reconciliations and analyses; and implementation of processes and controls to better identify and manage segregation of duties.

In light of the control design deficiencies and the resulting material weaknesses that were identified, we believe that it is possible that, had we and our independent registered public accounting firm performed an assessment or audit, respectively, of our internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, additional material weaknesses may have been identified.

We cannot assure you that the measures that we have taken, and that will be taken, to remediate these material weaknesses will, in fact, remedy the material weaknesses or will be sufficient to prevent future material weaknesses from occurring. We also cannot assure you that we have identified all of our existing material weaknesses.

If we are unable to remediate our existing material weakness or identify additional material weaknesses, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our Class A common stock could be negatively affected, and we could become subject to investigations by the stock exchange on which our securities are listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources.

There are provisions in our Amended Charter and Amended Bylaws, as they came into effect following the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, and provisions of Delaware law applicable to us as a public benefit corporation, that may make it difficult for a third-party to acquire, or attempt to acquire, control of our company, even if a change in control were considered favorable by our stockholders. These anti-takeover provisions include:

Moreover, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibit an interested stockholder, defined as, among other things, a person who owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock, from entering into a business combination with us for a three-year period following the time such stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless: (1) prior to such time the Board of Directors approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; (2) upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding certain shares for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding; or (3) at or subsequent to such time the business combination is approved by the Board of Directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder. Any provision in our Amended Charter, our Amended Bylaws, or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our Class A common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our Class A common stock.

Also, as a public benefit corporation, our board of directors is required by the Delaware General Corporation Law to manage or direct our business and affairs in a manner that balances the pecuniary interests of our stockholders, the best interests of those materially affected by our conduct, and the specific public benefits identified in our Amended Charter. Any of the foregoing provisions could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our Class A common stock, and they could deter potential acquirers of our company, thereby reducing the likelihood that you would receive a premium for your shares of our Class A common stock in an acquisition.

Our Amended Charter provides that, unless the Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or the Court of Chancery, is the exclusive forum for the following types of actions, suits or proceedings: any derivative action, suit or proceeding brought on our behalf, any action, suit or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by a current or former director, officer or other employee or stockholder of the Corporation, any action, suit or proceeding asserting a claim against us arising under the Delaware General Corporation Law, our Amended Charter, or our Amended Bylaws (as either may be amended or restated) or as to which the Delaware General Corporation Law confers exclusive jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery, and any action, suit or proceeding asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. If the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction thereof, such actions, suits or proceedings shall be brought in the federal district court of the District of Delaware or other state courts of the State of Delaware. This provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability

created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or Exchange Act. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all Securities Act actions. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such claims. To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, our Amended Charter further provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or any other claim for which the federal courts of the United States have exclusive jurisdiction. While the Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions. In such instance, we would expect to vigorously assert the validity and enforceability of the exclusive forum provisions of our Amended Charter. This may require significant additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions and there can be no assurance that the provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions.

These exclusive forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, and other employees. If a court were to find either exclusive-forum provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur further significant additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, all of which could seriously harm our business.

Our business depends on consumer demand for our products and, consequently, is sensitive to a number of factors that influence consumer confidence and spending, such as general economic conditions, consumer disposable income, energy and fuel prices, recession and fears of recession, unemployment, minimum wages, availability of consumer credit, consumer debt levels, conditions in the housing market, interest rates, tax rates and policies, inflation, consumer confidence in future economic conditions and political conditions, war and fears of war, inclement weather, natural disasters, terrorism, outbreak of viruses or widespread illness, and consumer perceptions of personal well-being and security. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we temporarily closed all of our retail stores to the public in March 2020, and while we have since reopened all retail stores, our sales and profitability were adversely affected. Unfavorable economic conditions may lead consumers to delay or reduce purchases of our products and services and consumer demand for our products and services may not grow as we expect. Prolonged or pervasive economic downturns could also slow the pace of new retail store openings or cause current locations to close.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the listing standards of the NYSE, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting, and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly, and place significant strain on our personnel, systems, and resources. Furthermore, several members of our management team do not have prior experience in running a public company. For example, the Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly, and current reports with respect to our business and results of operations. As a result of the complexity involved in complying with the rules and regulations applicable to public companies, our management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Although we have already hired additional employees to assist us in complying with these requirements, we may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants, which will increase our operating expenses. In addition, changing laws, regulations, and standards relating to corporate

governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs, and making some activities more time-consuming. These laws, regulations, and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest substantial resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations, and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from business operations to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations, and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed. We also expect that being a public company that is subject to these new rules and regulations will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors, particularly members who can serve on our audit committee and compensation committee, and qualified executive officers. As a result of the disclosure obligations required of a public company, our business and financial condition will become more visible, which may result in an increased risk of threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business, financial condition, and results of operations would be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, would divert the resources of our management and harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act, as an emerging growth company, we have elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. As a result, our consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to the financial statements of issuers who are required to comply with the effective dates for new or revised accounting standards that are applicable to public companies, which may make our Class A common stock less attractive to investors. In addition, if we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will no longer be able to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of: (1) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of our listing; (2) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenue is $1.07 billion or more; (3) the date on which we have, during the previous rolling three-year period, issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt securities; and (4) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the rules of the SEC.

We cannot predict if investors will find our Class A common stock less attractive if we choose to rely on these exemptions. For example, if we do not adopt a new or revised accounting standard, our future results of operations may not be comparable to the results of operations of certain other companies in our industry that adopted such standards. If some investors find our Class A common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Class A common stock, and our stock price may be more volatile.

GAAP is subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, the SEC, and various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. The accounting for our business is

complicated, particularly as it relates to accounting for inventory valuation and the related reserves and stock based compensation, and is subject to change based on the evolution of our business model, interpretations of relevant accounting principles, enforcement of existing or new regulations, and changes in SEC or other agency policies, rules, regulations, and interpretations of accounting regulations. We plan to adopt ASC No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) for fiscal periods beginning after December 31, 2021. We are currently evaluating the effect of adoption of these standards on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures, but expect to record a material right-of-use asset and liability on the consolidated balance sheet related to our operating leases upon adoption. Changes to our business model and accounting methods, principles, or interpretations could also result in changes to our financial statements, including changes in revenue and expenses in any period, or in certain categories of revenue and expenses moving to different periods, may result in materially different financial results, and may require that we change how we process, analyze, and report financial information and our financial reporting controls.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, as provided in the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates.” The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities, and equity, and the amount of revenue and expenses. Significant estimates and judgments involve: revenue recognition, including revenue-related reserves; legal contingencies; valuation of our common stock and equity awards; income taxes; and sales and indirect tax reserves. Our results of operations may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our results of operations to fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the market price of our Class A common stock.

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future results of operations or financial condition, business strategy, and plans and objectives of management for future operations are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “toward,” “will,” or “would,” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the following:

We caution you that the foregoing list may not contain all of the forward-looking statements made in this prospectus.

You should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus. The results, events, and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur, and actual results, events, or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this prospectus. While we believe such information provides a reasonable basis for these statements, such information may be limited or incomplete. Our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely on these statements.

The forward-looking statements made in this prospectus relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this prospectus to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this prospectus or to reflect new information, actual results, revised expectations, or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures, or investments.

This prospectus contains estimates and information concerning our industry, including market size and growth of the market in which we participate, that are based on industry publications and reports. This information involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to these estimates. We have not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the data contained in these industry publications and reports. Although we are responsible for all of the disclosure contained in this prospectus, and we believe the market position, market opportunity, market size, and other information included in this prospectus is based on reliable sources, such information is inherently imprecise and the industry in which we operate is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in the section titled “Risk Factors.” These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in these publications and reports.

The sources of certain statistical data, estimates, and forecasts contained in this prospectus are the following independent industry sources:

Statistics and estimates related to our competitors’ pricing are sourced from a December 2020 VisionWatch Market Analysis Report published by The Vision Council, or the VisionWatch Report. The VisionWatch Report sampled over 90,000 respondents to measure the prices of eyeglasses and related products and services across the U.S. retail market, which includes competitors with online and in-store footprints. In 2019 and 2020, for both frames with single-vision lenses and frames with progressive lenses, our products sold at a lower average price than those of our competitors studied in the VisionWatch Report.

The Registered Stockholders may, or may not, elect to sell shares of our Class A common stock covered by this prospectus. To the extent any Registered Stockholder chooses to sell shares of our Class A common stock covered by this prospectus, we will not receive any proceeds from any such sales of our Class A common stock. See the section titled “Principal and Registered Stockholders.”

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and future earnings, if any, to fund the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination regarding the declaration and payment of dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on then-existing conditions, including our financial condition, results of operations, contractual restrictions, capital requirements, business prospects, and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends may be restricted by any agreements we may enter into in the future.

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents, and our capitalization as of June 30, 2021 as follows:

You should read this information together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in this prospectus and the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” section and other financial information contained in this prospectus.

The unaudited pro forma column in the table above is based on shares of our Class A common stock and shares of our Class B common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2021 and excludes:

Our 2021 Plan and ESPP provide for annual automatic increases in the number of shares reserved thereunder. See the section titled “Executive Compensation—Employee Benefit and Stock Plans” for additional information.

A pioneer of the direct-to-consumer model, Warby Parker is one of the fastest-growing brands at scale in the United States. We are a mission-driven, lifestyle brand that operates at the intersection of design, technology, healthcare, and social enterprise.

Since day one, our focus on delighting customers and doing good has created a foundation for continuous innovation:

We maintain data across the entire customer journey that allows us to develop deep insights, informing our innovation priorities and enabling us to create a highly personalized, brand-enhancing experience for our customers. We have built an integrated, multichannel presence that we believe deepens our relationship with existing customers while broadening reach and accessibility. And while we have the ability to track where our customers transact, we’re channel agnostic to where the transaction takes place and find that many of our customers engage with us across both digital and physical channels; for example, many customers who check out online visit a store throughout their customer journey, while others choose to browse online before visiting one of our stores.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, we generated 60% of net revenue from e-commerce and the remaining 40% of net revenue from our retail stores. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, we generated 50% of net revenue from e-commerce and the remaining 50% of net revenue from our retail stores. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our channel mix for the year ended December 31, 2019 from our retail stores and e-commerce was 65% and 35%, respectively. Customers can purchase our items in one of our more than 145 retail stores, through our website, or our mobile app. For the year ended December 31, 2020, 97% of our sales were paid directly by our customers, with the remaining 3% of sales fulfilled through vision insurance. Our sales through vision insurance may increase over time as we engage in discussions with vision insurance plans.

Our operating and financial success is powered by our customer economics. We have continued to grow our Active Customers and Orders and had 1.81 million and 2.14 million, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2020. In 2020, approximately 50% of our surveyed customers reported hearing about us through word of mouth. Our high brand affinity is evidenced by our industry-leading NPS of 83, for the three months ended June 30, 2021, as well as our Sales Retention Rate. On average, for customers acquired between 2015 and 2019, we observed approximately 50% Sales Retention Rate within 24 months of their first purchase and a nearly 100% Sales Retention Rate over 48 months. We believe this loyalty is particularly important in optical given the replenishment of the products and the opportunity for a lifetime relationship with the customer.

We also see long-term unit opportunities for new retail stores in both existing and new markets where we have little to no presence currently. Our retail stores are highly productive and we have historically targeted, and continue to target, Four-Wall Margins of 35% and Average Sales Per Square Foot of $2,900. We expect Average Sales Per Square Foot may fluctuate due to factors including, but not limited to, consumer traffic into our retail stores, the number of orders that we are able to convert from that traffic, and average order value which may be impacted by new product and service introductions. We expect average Four-Wall Margins may fluctuate due to all items listed that may impact Average Sales Per Square Foot, as well as our ability to efficiently manage labor within our stores and the lease terms we negotiate with landlords for our retail stores. Given completed retail stores, signed leases, and retail stores in development, we plan to open over 30 to 35 new retail stores in 2021 and will seek to continue this pace of rollout into the foreseeable future.

For the years ended December 31, 2018 (unaudited), 2019, and 2020:

For the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2021 (unaudited):

For a definition of adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, and a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see the section titled “Prospectus Summary—Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data—Key Business Metrics and Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Our stakeholder-centric business model informs everything that we do. We aim to provide exceptional vision care to our customers, create sustainable long-term careers for our employees, invest in growth, improve operations, and scale performance while driving social change and reducing our environmental impact.

This all starts with our products and services. Our holistic vision care offering provides customers the convenience of shopping for their vision care needs in one place. We generate the majority of our revenue from selling high-quality, good-looking prescription eyewear through our own retail stores, our website, and mobile app. By circumventing traditional channels, designing products in-house, and engaging with customers directly, we’re able to sell a pair of prescription glasses at $95 (including lenses), which is a fraction of the price of many of our competitors. We also sell contact lenses and offer vision services, such as eye exams and vision tests. For every pair of glasses sold, we help distribute a pair to someone in need through our Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program.

Our ability to sell affordable products without compromising on quality is achieved through our integrated supply chain network that is designed to work seamlessly to get the right order to the right place at the right time. All of our frames are designed at our New York City headquarters, and we handpick raw materials and the talented

suppliers who bring them to life. These deliberate decisions help us stay true to our original aesthetic vision, as well as drive operating performance results. We work with raw material vendors on proprietary development, in addition to frame suppliers on their production methods and machinery to achieve high-quality performance.

We believe that by delivering a multichannel personalized shopping experience, we develop a deeper understanding of our customers, driving strong customer economics as we scale our brand. We track this using Average Contribution Per Customer, which captures (i) the costs incurred to produce and fulfill products our customers purchase, (ii) the costs to attract, acquire, and retain customers, and (iii) the costs to service customers before, during, and after they make a purchase.

Our Average Contribution Per Customer for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019, and 2020 was $48, $54, and $45, respectively, reflecting Contribution Margins of 25%, 26%, and 21%, respectively. In 2020, the decline in Average Contribution Per Customer was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to lower overall demand and slower growth in our Active Customers relative to 2018 and 2019. The decrease in Contribution Margin was also driven by an increase in Customer Acquisition Cost, which increased 49% to $40 per customer in 2020 compared to $27 per customer in 2019, while the increase in our Average Revenue Per Customer was 5%, from $208 in 2019 to $218 in 2020 and 16% since 2018 from $188. The 2020 increase in Customer Acquisition Cost was driven by deliberate investment in media spend; we wanted to broaden awareness that our business could support customers throughout the pandemic by offering critical products and services to help people see through our e-commerce channel and telehealth offerings. We also wanted to drive awareness around our newer product lines—contacts, eye exams, and vision tests—that we expect will result in higher Average Revenue Per Customer over time. In 2020, spend for our Home Try-On program also increased, which was a result of heightened demand for our e-commerce channel throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that our Average Contribution Per Customer will improve in the future as we continue to grow our Average Revenue Per Customer while realizing leverage on our Customer Acquisition Cost and our selling and service cost per customer. We will continue to invest in product development and design, technology, and customer data analytics to further personalize the customer experience, enhance customer economics, and improve our Average Contribution Per Customer. For definitions of Average Contribution Per Customer and Contribution Margin, each a non-GAAP measure, and a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see the section titled “Prospectus Summary—Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data—Non-GAAP Financial Measures—Average Contribution Per Customer and Contribution Margin.”

At Warby Parker, we are customer-first and channel-agnostic. We aim to meet the customer wherever and whenever they want to shop, whether that’s online, in store, or even at home. Glasses are an incredibly personal accessory; as customers look toward purchasing their next pair, we find that there is significant interplay across online and offline channels—browsing online might lead to a visit in one of our more than 145 stores and end with a purchase via our e-commerce app.

A customer journey that starts in store can end with a purchase online and vice versa, with more than 70% of our customers interacting with our website or mobile app before placing an order. While we allocate resources and set priorities to scale all of our channels, we define channel mix within the context of our business as the channel in which the customer places their order. We define our channel mix as the percentage of sales that are completed between our two channels, which are either: (1) e-commerce, either through our website or mobile app (considered “e-commerce channel”) and (2) in our retail stores (considered “retail channel”). Our e-commerce channel serves to complement our retail footprint and offers additional convenience to our customers, which leads to a significant amount of interplay between the channels in a customer’s journey. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our channel mix in 2019 from our retail stores and e-commerce was 65% and 35%, respectively. Net revenue from our e-commerce channel decreased from 38% of net revenue in 2018 to 35% of net revenue in 2019, which was driven by the increase in our Store Count over the same period. Due to temporary retail store closures and limited capacity constraints implemented at our retail stores during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our e-commerce channel increased in 2020 to 60% of net revenue. Through the first six months of 2021, we have observed a re-balancing of channel mix back towards pre-COVID-19 levels, with e-commerce channel mix at 50% of net revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2021.

The mix of the products and services that customers purchase in a given time period impacts our revenue and margin profile. For the year ended December 31, 2020, we generated 95% of net revenue from the sale of glasses, 2% of net revenue from the sale of contacts, 1% of net revenue from eye exams, and the remaining 2% primarily from the sale of eyewear accessories. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, we generated 94% of net revenue from the sale of glasses, 3% of net revenue from the sale of contacts, 2% of net revenue from eye exams, and the remaining 1% primarily from the sale of eyewear accessories.

Within our glasses product category, which is our largest category, we sell prescription and non-prescription glasses products for optical and sun. Glasses product types can be broken down by the lens type purchased (e.g., single-vision, progressive, non-prescription) or by the frame material used (e.g., acetate, mixed material, metal only). In addition to lens type and frame material, we also offer a variety of lens treatment options for our customers, including blue-light-filtering and light-responsive lens coatings. Our offering across a range of lens types and frame materials allows us to meet the wide range of customer eyewear needs and preferences. Our different lens type, frame material, and lens treatment offerings have an impact on average selling price per unit and an impact on cost of goods sold based on differences in product fulfillment costs.

As outlined in the chart below, which breaks down our mix of units sold in 2020 based on lens type, single-vision glasses make up the largest share of our glasses category. Progressive lenses made up 14% of total units sold for

the year ended December 31, 2020 and represent a significant area of potential growth for the company as, according to the Vision Council, progressive and multifocal lens unit sales are 45% of the total market based on pairs bought.

In addition to the measures presented in our consolidated financial statements, we use the following key business metrics and certain non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate our business, measure our performance, develop financial forecasts, and make strategic decisions. The following table summarizes our key performance indicators and non-GAAP financial measures for each period presented below, which are unaudited.

__________________

The number of Active Customers is a key performance measure that we use to assess the reach of our physical retail stores and digital platform as well as our brand awareness. We define an Active Customers as a unique customer that has made at least one purchase in the preceding 12-month period. We determine our number of Active Customers by counting the total number of customers who have made at least one purchase in the preceding 12-month period, measured from the last date of such period. Given our definition of a customer is a

unique customer that has made at least one purchase, it can include either an individual person or a household of more than one person utilizing a single account.

The number of Active Customers has increased steadily each quarter as we attract new customers and retain existing customers. We have observed consistent and strong growth in our active customer base over time. Additionally, we have more than doubled our Active Customers from the first quarter 2017 through the second quarter 2021 as we increased marketing spend and expanded our retail footprint from 44 retail stores as of December 31, 2016 to 145 retail stores as of June 30, 2021. In 2020, our Active Customer growth was impacted by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, including temporary closure of retail stores for several months during the year and extended stay-at-home orders in several locations.

Store Count is a key performance measure that we use to reach consumers and generate incremental demand for our products. We define Store Count as the total number of retail stores open at the end of a given period. We believe our retail stores embody our brand, drive brand awareness, and serve as efficient customer acquisition vehicles. Over time, we believe our retail stores will generate significant cash flows. Our results of operations have been and will continue to be affected by the timing and number of retail stores that we operate.

We have thoughtfully expanded our retail store footprint over the past five years. In 2019, we opened 32 new retail stores between December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2019, and we closed 1 retail store over the same time period. In 2020, we opened fewer retail stores than in years prior due to the COVID-19 pandemic-related operating challenges, including extended retail store closures and heightened safety measures. In total, we opened 10 new retail stores between December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020, and we relocated two retail stores and closed three retail stores over the same time period. In the six months ended June 30, 2021, we opened 19 new retail stores, and we relocated one retail store over the same time period.

Our retail stores serve as valuable marketing vehicles for introducing new customers to our brand and driving repeat purchases and, in turn, positively impact our Sales Retention Rate. Customers are drawn to the vibrant appeal of our retail storefronts and the distinctive in-store experience. We have designed our stores to be convenient, fun, and inspirational—and pride ourselves on the service our teams provide.

As of June 30, 2021, 91 out of our 145 retail stores offered in-person eye exams.

We use adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin as important indicators of our operating performance. We believe that adjusted EBITDA, when taken collectively with our GAAP results, may be helpful to investors because it provides consistency and comparability with past financial performance and assists in comparisons with other companies, some of which use similar non-GAAP financial information to supplement their GAAP results. We define adjusted EBITDA as net loss for the company and its consolidated subsidiaries before interest and other (income) / expense, taxes, and depreciation and amortization as further adjusted for stock compensation expense. We defined adjusted EBITDA margin as adjusted EBITDA divided by net revenue. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP financial measures. For more information about how we use these non-GAAP financial measures in our business, the limitations of this measure, and a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net loss, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, please see the section titled “Prospectus Summary—Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data—Key Business Metrics and Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

For the year ended December 31, 2020, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin were $7.7 million and 1.9%, respectively, and for the year ended December 31, 2019, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin were $21.9 million and 5.9%, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2019, adjusted EBITDA increased and adjusted EBITDA margin expanded when compared to the same period in 2018 as a result of increased net revenue and gross profit without the same corresponding increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses, primarily achieved through an increase in Orders and higher AOV. In 2020, we experienced an acute decline in adjusted EBITDA due to the COVID-19 pandemic-related operating challenges, including extended retail store closures and heightened safety measures. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margins have increased since 2016 as we scaled our operations and realized operating efficiencies.

We believe that our performance and future success depend on a variety of factors that present significant opportunities for our business but also present risks and challenges that could adversely impact our growth and profitability, including those discussed below and in the section titled “Risk Factors.”

Our brand is integral to the growth of our business and to the implementation of our business expansion strategies. Every aspect of our business is oriented around delighting the customer, which we believe enhances customer loyalty and drives a leading NPS score. Our brand awareness stems from a combination of organic, word-of-mouth marketing, and social media, as well as television, digital, podcasts, and radio. Our Unaided Brand Awareness for the three months ended March 31, 2021 was 13%. If we fail to maintain and enhance our brand as expected, our ability to engage our customer base may be impaired, and our business, financial condition, and results of operations may suffer.

We believe our ability to sustain a consistently increasing Sales Retention Rate within each cohort of customers demonstrates our strong value proposition. We attract new customers each year and track the retention of those customers over time since their initial purchase. On average, for customers acquired between 2015 and 2019, we observed an approximately 50% Sales Retention Rate within 24 months of their first purchase and a nearly 100% Sales Retention Rate over 48 months. Our Sales Retention Rate has been consistent across customer cohorts even as the count of customers in each cohort has increased. In addition, we typically experience higher Sales Retention Rate for customers that purchase contacts and receive an eye exam. These repeat purchases provide the basis for long-term growth as our customer base increases.

Our consistent retention rate is also reflected in the mix of our Active Customers. The proportion of returning customers has steadily increased each year as customers return to purchase. While the returning customer mix has increased over time, we also continue to see growth in our Active Customers who are new to the business. This is part of the underpinning of our growth model. While we continue to acquire new customers, we seek to ensure new customers become repeat customers as they experience our brand and value proposition. The strength of our multichannel business model is reflected in the fact that in 2020, 58% of our Active Customers were first-time customers despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over time, we expect an increased mix of returning customers will provide leverage to our Customer Acquisition Cost as we believe the relative cost to acquire a returning customer is lower than a new customer, which would improve our Average

Contribution Per Customer. If however, we fail to cost-effectively retain our existing customers, our net revenue may grow slower than expected or decline and our Customer Acquisition Cost may increase.

We view Orders as a measure of the overall velocity of our business. We have observed a very consistent relationship between Orders and Active Customers over time, and believe there is significant opportunity to increase Orders as we increase our Active Customer base. The steady increase in both Orders and Average Order Value have propelled historical growth in the business, and we believe the interplay between these metrics will impact future sales performance. Please see the section below for more information on Average Order Value.

The number of Orders has increased each year as we increase our Active Customers. The average number of Orders per customer has been consistent each year, and therefore the change in Orders has been closely linked to the change in Active Customers. Similar to the change in Active Customers, we increased our Orders by 22% from 2018 to 2019 and by 1% from 2019 to 2020. See the section titled “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Business and Industry—If we fail to cost-effectively retain our existing customers or to acquire new customers, our business, financial condition, and results of operations would be harmed.”

While the majority of our glasses start at $95 including prescription lenses, just like they did when we launched 11 years ago, our AOV has steadily increased as we have made new products and services available to our customers. We believe that increases in AOV reflects the value proposition we offer to our customers. In particular, as we scale our existing product offering, such as progressive lenses, and as we introduce new offerings, such as blue-light-filtering lenses, we have observed an increase in AOV as these products are adopted by our existing

customers and/or we attract new customers. Our AOV is driven by the number and mix of products purchased per order and the average selling price of each of those products. Our increase in AOV is driven by our ability to introduce and scale new products or service offerings to our customers. From 2018 to 2019, AOV increased by 11% from $158 to $176 primarily driven by a higher unit mix of progressive lens product as well as the scaling of additional lens offerings such as blue-light-filtering lenses, which were launched as an offering in November 2018, and light-responsive lenses. From 2019 to 2020, AOV increased by 5% from $176 to $184 primarily driven by moderately higher unit mix of progressive lens product and continued scaling of additional lens offerings, most notably blue-light-filtering lenses and light-responsive lenses. See the section titled “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Business and Industry—If we fail to cost-effectively retain our existing customers or to acquire new customers, our business, financial condition, and results of operations would be harmed.”

Our business performance depends in part on our continued ability to acquire customers in a cost effective manner. In 2019, our Customer Acquisition Cost of $27 per customer was in-line with 2018 Customer Acquisition Cost of $26 per customer as we were able to effectively scale acquisition spend in line with Active Customer growth. In 2020, our Customer Acquisition Cost increased due to deliberate investment in media spend: we wanted to broaden awareness that our business could support customers throughout the pandemic while also driving awareness around our newer product lines—contacts, exams, and vision tests—that we expect will result in higher Average Revenue Per Customer over time. In 2020, we also observed a meaningful increase in customer demand for our Home Try-On program, which increased our costs to support that program. The increase in Home Try-On demand was driven by an increase in e-commerce demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related store closures. If we fail to cost-effectively acquire new customers or retain existing customers through our campaigns and offerings, our overall profitability could be negatively impacted.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused personal and business disruption worldwide beginning in January 2020. As a result of the pandemic, the recommendations of government and health authorities, and our concern for the health and safety of our team members, customers, and communities, we pivoted operations throughout our entire organization. First, we made the difficult decision to close our 120 retail stores on March 14, 2020. We also transitioned our Corporate and Customer Experience teams to remote work and closed our in-house optical lab for 24 hours to implement robust safety and sanitization protocols. Some of our suppliers and logistics partners experienced supply constraints or labor shortages, as well. These impacts resulted in disruptions to our product and delivery supply chain, including longer delivery times for certain products. Despite these challenges, net revenue grew by 6% from 2019 to 2020 and we generated positive Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Throughout the pandemic, our team remained committed to ensuring we could get our customers the glasses they needed to see and live their daily lives. We leaned on our e-commerce channel—in particular on existing services like Home Try-On, Virtual Try-On, and Virtual Vision Test—which made us well-equipped to provide customers with a medical necessity during stay-at-home orders.

We also evolved our do-good efforts to maximize impact during the pandemic. To that end, we responded to the immediate needs of our longest-standing partner, VisionSpring, to protect healthcare workers and slow COVID-19 transmission in high risk communities where they work—principally in India, Bangladesh, and sub-Saharan Africa. Starting on April 1, 2020, for a portion of Warby Parker glasses purchased, we worked with VisionSpring to distribute personal protective equipment and prevention supplies to people in need. This temporary pivot continued through the end of 2020 and into 2021. Through our support, VisionSpring provided over two million units of PPE and preventative health supplies in 2020.

After two months of retail store closures, we began reopening using a phased approach and successfully reopened all retail locations by December 31, 2020 following new safety and sanitization protocols such as shorter business hours, mask guidelines for employees and customers, government mandated limited capacity, and more. While our retail stores recovered in the second half of 2020, over the course of the year, we saw 40% of retail store demand shift online, driving a surge in e-commerce year-on-year growth of over 100%, which remained elevated at these levels through the end of the first quarter of 2021.

Business growth was slower than expected in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We reduced the number of planned new retail store openings in 2020, which could impact our growth in future periods. Moreover, in 2020, our Customer Acquisition Cost increased as we deliberately invested in media spend. We also observed a meaningful increase in customer demand for our Home Try-On program, which increased our costs to support that program. These challenges, balanced with e-commerce strength, resulted in total revenue growth of 6% in 2020 while revenue for the five largest public optical companies declined 10% on average.

The health and safety of our customers and employees remains our top priority. We continuously monitor developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic in locations where we have offices, optical laboratories, or retail operations, and have developed procedures to enable us to responsibly and efficiently open or close locations and adjust operations as needed. We have onboarded and continue to onboard new suppliers, as well as enhance inventory planning and monitoring capabilities. We expect these actions to mitigate supply chain disruptions in future quarters, although the future trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic is still unknown. The full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Delta variant, will directly or indirectly impact our business, operations, and financial condition will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted. Given the uncertainty, we cannot estimate the financial impact of the pandemic on our future results of operations, cash flows, or financial condition. For additional details, refer to the section titled “Risk Factors.”

We primarily derive revenue from the sales of eyewear products, optical services, and accessories. We sell products and services through our retail stores, website, and mobile apps. Revenue generated from eyewear products includes the sales of prescription and non-prescription optical glasses and sunglasses, contact lenses, eyewear accessories, and expedited shipping charges, which are charged to the customer, associated with these

purchases. Revenue is recognized when the customer takes possession of the product, either at the point of delivery or in-store pickup, and is recorded net of returns and discounts. Revenue generated from services consist of both in-person eye exams in cases where we directly employ the optometrist, and prescriptions issued through the Virtual Vision Test app. Revenue is recognized when the service is rendered and is recorded net of discounts.

Cost of goods sold includes the costs incurred to acquire materials, assemble, and sell our finished products. Such costs include (i) product costs held at the lesser of cost and net realizable value and inclusive of inventory reserves, (ii) freight and import costs, (iii) optical laboratory costs, (iv) customer shipping, (v) occupancy and depreciation costs of retail stores, and (vi) employee-related costs associated with our prescription services, which includes salaries, benefits, bonuses, and stock-based compensation. We expect our cost of goods sold to fluctuate as a percentage of net revenue primarily due to product mix, customer preferences and resulting demand, customer shipping costs, and management of our inventory and merchandise mix. Cost of goods sold also may change as we open or close retail stores because of the resulting change in related occupancy and depreciation costs. Over time we expect our cost of goods sold to increase with revenue due to an increased number of Orders and with the opening of new retail stores driven by the resulting occupancy and depreciation costs and employee-related costs associated with prescription services offerings at our retail stores. In connection with this listing, we will recognize stock-based compensation expense related to our RSUs which vest as a result of the satisfaction of the liquidity event-based vesting condition. In addition, we will recognize additional ongoing stock-based compensation expense related to our RSU awards over the remaining service period. For further information, see the section titled “—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates.”

We define gross profit as net revenues less cost of goods sold. Gross margin is gross profit expressed as a percentage of net revenues. Our gross margin has remained steady historically, but may fluctuate in the future based on a number of factors, including the cost at which we can obtain, transport, and assemble our inventory, the rate at which we open new retail stores, and how effective we can be at controlling costs, in any given period.

Selling, general, and administrative expenses, or SG&A, primarily consist of employee-related costs including salaries, benefits, bonuses, and stock-based compensation for our corporate and retail employees, marketing, information technology, credit card processing fees, donations in connection with our Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program, facilities, legal, and other administrative costs associated with operating the business. Marketing costs, which consist of both online and offline advertising, include sponsored search, online advertising, marketing and retail events, and other initiatives. Selling, general, and administrative expenses also include administrative costs associated with our Home Try-On program that provides customers the opportunity to sample eyewear at home prior to purchase. We expect our selling, general, and administrative expenses to increase in absolute dollars over time and to fluctuate as a percentage of revenue due to the anticipated growth of our business, increased marketing investments, and additional costs associated with becoming a public company. We also expect to recognize certain non-recurring costs as part of our transition to a publicly-traded company, consisting of professional fees and other expenses. These fees are expensed in the period incurred. Additionally, we will recognize stock-based compensation expense related to our RSUs which vest as a result of the satisfaction of the liquidity event-based vesting condition and will recognize additional ongoing stock-based compensation expense related to our RSU awards over the remaining service period. For further information, see the section titled “—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates.”

Interest and other income, net, consists primarily of interest generated from our cash and cash equivalents balances net of interest incurred on borrowings and unutilized line fees on our line of credit, and are recognized as incurred. We expect our interest and other income costs to fluctuate based on our future bank balances and credit line utilization.

Provision for income taxes consists of income taxes related to foreign and domestic federal and state jurisdictions in which we conduct business, adjusted for allowable credits, deductions, and valuation allowance against deferred tax assets.

The results of operations presented below should be reviewed in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes included elsewhere in the prospectus. The following tables set forth our results of operations for the periods presented in dollars and as a percentage of net revenue:

Net revenue increased $93.7 million, or 53.0%, for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. This increase in net revenue was driven by an increase in Orders as a result of an increase in our Active Customer base and an increase in AOV. The increase in Orders was due to the addition of new stores, strong e-commerce performance, and comparing to a period a year ago when our retail stores were temporarily closed due to COVID-19. AOV increased primarily due to a higher mix of purchases of glasses with progressive lenses and with lens treatments (e.g., blue-light-filtering, light-responsive).

Cost of goods sold increased by $34.7 million, or 46.9%, for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, and decreased as a percentage of revenue over the same period by 170 basis points, from 41.9% of revenue to 40.2% of revenue. The increase in cost of goods sold was primarily driven by increased product and fulfillment costs associated with the growth in net revenue, as well as an increase in store occupancy and depreciation expense due to new retail stores opened since June 30, 2020, and a full six months of expense from new retail stores opened throughout the first half of 2020.

Gross profit, calculated as net revenue less cost of goods sold, increased by $59.1 million, or 57.5%, for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to the increase in revenue over the same period.

Gross margin, expressed as a percentage and calculated as gross profit divided by net revenue, increased by 170 basis points for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. Gross margin for the six months ended June 30, 2021 was higher compared to the same period in the prior year primarily because the prior period includes impacts of the temporary closure of our retail stores due to COVID-19. For the six months ended June 30, 2020, we continued to incur retail store occupancy and depreciation costs and employee-related expenses associated with our prescription services while stores were closed which negatively impacted gross margin in the prior year period.

Selling, general, and administrative expenses increased $55.7 million, or 49.7%, for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, and as a percentage of net revenue decreased by 130 basis points. The decrease in SG&A as a percentage of net revenue was primarily driven by net revenue growing at a faster rate than our personnel expenses, including employee-related expenses of corporate and store employees, as well as general corporate overhead expenses, while advertising and marketing costs grew in-line with net revenue. The six months ended June 30, 2021 also included $9.2 million of stock compensation expense, or 3.4% of net revenue, incurred in connection with our Tender Offer, mainly representing previously unrecognized compensation costs related to settled and repurchased restricted stock units. Excluding these costs, SG&A expenses increased $46.4 million or 41.5%.

Interest and other loss, net decreased by $0.2 million, or 43.9%, for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. This decrease was primarily driven by lower interest expense due to the repayment of the balance outstanding on our Credit Facility in August 2020.

Net revenue increased $23.3 million, or 6.3%, for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. This increase was driven by an increase of 1.5% in Active Customers from 1.78 million in 2019 to 1.81 million along with an increase in AOV as orders per Active Customer remained consistent from 2019 to 2020. The increase in AOV was driven by a higher mix of purchases of glasses with progressive lenses and with lens treatments (e.g., blue-light-filtering, light-responsive) which increased our total average price per unit sold, while our average units per order remained consistent year-over-year. Due to COVID-19, we temporarily closed our retail stores, which impacted our net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020 and also led to a shift in purchases through our e-commerce channel.

Cost of goods sold increased by $14.4 million, or 9.8%, for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, and increased as a percentage of revenue over the same period by 130 basis points, from 39.8% of revenue to 41.1% of revenue. The increase in cost of goods sold was primarily driven by increased product and fulfillment costs associated with the growth in net revenue, as well as an increase in store occupancy and depreciation expense due to new retail stores opened in 2020 and a full-year of expense from new retail stores opened throughout 2019.

Gross profit, calculated as net revenue less cost of goods sold, increased by $8.8 million, or 4.0%, for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, primarily due to the increase in revenue in 2020 as compared to 2019.

Gross margin, expressed as a percentage and calculated as gross profit divided by net revenue, decreased by 130 basis point for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The decrease in gross margin was primarily a result of an increase in costs that are not directly driven by products sold, including retail store occupancy and depreciation costs and employee-related costs associated with our prescription services.

Selling, general, and administrative expenses increased $62.8 million, or 27.9%, for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. This increase was primarily driven by a $41.7 million stock-based compensation charge, or 10.8% of net revenue, in connection with shares held by employees that were sold to a third-party investor at the same time as our Series G redeemable convertible preferred stock issuance. Excluding these costs, SG&A expenses increased $21.1 million or 9.4%. The increase in SG&A as a percentage of net revenue was primarily driven by an increase in marketing and Home Try-On costs to support and capitalize on increased demand for at-home shopping due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase as a percentage of net revenue was partially offset by a reduction in general corporate overhead expenses as a percentage of revenue.

Interest and other income (loss), net decreased by $2.0 million, or 105.0%, for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. This decrease was primarily driven by a reduction in interest income due to a lower interest rate environment, interest expense on borrowings under the Credit Facility, and the timing and amounts of cash balances.

The following table sets forth our unaudited quarterly consolidated statements of operations data by quarter from the third quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2021. The unaudited quarterly consolidated results of operations set forth below have been prepared on the same basis as our audited consolidated financial statements and in our opinion contains all adjustments, consisting only of normal and recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair statement of this financial information. You should read the following information in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus. The results of historical periods are not necessarily indicative of the results for any future period, and the results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for a full year or any other period.

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The following table reconciles adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, which is net (loss) income:

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For more information about how we use these non-GAAP financial measures in our business and the limitations of these measures, please see the section titled “Prospectus Summary—Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data—Key Business Metrics and Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Revenue remained flat between the third and fourth quarter of 2019 and increased in the first quarter of 2020 as the last week of the year has historically been the strongest due to holiday shopping and customers using their flexible spending account dollars before they expire on December 31st of March 15th, depending on the individual’s underlying health care plan. As revenue is recognized upon delivery of product to the customer, the revenue associated with sales in the end of the fourth quarter is generally deferred and recognized in the first quarter of the following year.

Revenue decreased in the second quarter of 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, as most of our stores were closed for the entirety of the period resulting in a decline in Active Customers and Orders. Revenue increased sequentially in the third quarter of 2020 through the first quarter of 2021 as all of our stores reopened, with limited capacity, by August 2020, resulting in an increase in Active Customers, and Orders. Consistent with the typical seasonality of our business, revenue decreased on a sequential basis from the first quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of 2021. First quarter revenue typically benefits from the deferral of revenue associated with orders placed in final week of December as well as from the expiration of flexible spending dollars, which customers seek to use before expiration on December 31st or March 15th.

Cost of goods sold generally fluctuates in-line with revenue trends as our product costs, freight and fulfillment, optical laboratory costs, and customer shipping are recognized when an order is received by the customer. We have experienced increases in COGS primarily resulting from increases in product costs related to fulfilling Orders which have increased as net revenue increases, as well as moderate increases in retail occupancy costs as we expand our retail footprint and holistic vision care offerings in support of our growth. Over the quarterly periods shown, cost of goods as a percentage of revenue has remained relatively consistent.

Selling, general, and administrative expenses increased sequentially between the third and fourth quarter of 2019 primarily due to increased employee-related costs, advertising and marketing costs, and professional fees to support the overall growth of our business and customer demand in the period.

During the second quarter of 2020, SG&A sequentially decreased due to the impact of COVID-19 as we experienced a reduction in employee-related and variable costs associated with the closure of our retail stores. Despite the impacts of COVID-19 on our business, we deployed spend to grow our Home Try-On program and capitalize on increased demand for at-home shopping which is partially offsetting the reduced costs noted above. Our third quarter 2020 SG&A includes a $41.7 million stock-based compensation charge in connection with shares held by employees that were sold to a third-party investor at the same time as our Series G redeemable convertible preferred stock issuance.

SG&A has increased each quarter since the fourth quarter of 2020 to support the overall growth in the business as well as to prepare to meet our obligations as a public company following the completion of this offering. Our second quarter 2021 included a $9.2 million of stock compensation expense incurred in connection with our Tender Offer, mainly representing previously unrecognized compensation costs related to settled and repurchased restricted stock units.

Historically, our business has not experienced material seasonal fluctuations in net revenue. We do observe moderately higher seasonal demand during the month of December due in part to customer usage of health and flexible spending benefits in the final week of the year. Consistent with our policy to recognize revenue upon order delivery, any orders placed at the end of December are recognized as revenue upon delivery which may occur in the following year, and as such we typically see revenue decrease sequentially from the first quarter to the second quarter.

Our business has experienced a higher proportion of costs in each subsequent quarter as a year progresses due to the overall growth of the business and operating costs to support that growth, including costs related to the opening of new retail stores and increased marketing and employee-related compensation to support growth. The fourth quarter, in particular, has historically experienced the highest amount of costs in a year to support the business demand in the quarter, even though a portion of the net revenue from that demand is not recognized until January of the following year (see above for more details). In the future, seasonal trends may cause fluctuations in our quarterly results, which may impact the predictability of our business and operating results.

Since inception, we have financed our operations primarily from net proceeds from the sale of redeemable convertible preferred stock and cash flows from operating activities. As of December 31, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents of $314.1 million, which was primarily held for working capital purposes, and an accumulated deficit of $325.4 million. As of June 30, 2021, we had cash and cash equivalents of $260.7 million, which was primarily held for working capital purposes, and an accumulated deficit of $356.3 million.

We expect that operating losses could continue in the foreseeable future as we continue to invest in the expansion of our business and sales and marketing activities. We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents, funds available under our existing credit facility, and cash flows from operating activities will be sufficient to fund our operations for at least the next 12 months.

However, our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to, growth in the number of retail stores, the needs of our optical laboratories and distribution network, expansion of our product offerings or service capabilities, and the timing of investments in technology and personnel to support the overall growth in our business. To the extent that current and anticipated future sources of liquidity are insufficient to fund our future business activities and requirements, we may be required to seek additional equity or debt financing. The sale of additional equity would result in additional dilution to our stockholders. The incurrence of debt financing would result in debt service obligations and the instruments governing such debt could provide for operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. There can be no assurances that we will be able to raise additional capital. In the event that additional financing is required from outside sources, we may not be able to negotiate terms acceptable to us or at all. In particular, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has caused

disruption in the global financial markets, which could reduce our ability to access capital and negatively affect our liquidity in the future. If we are unable to raise additional capital when required, or if we cannot expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities because we lack sufficient capital, our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows would be adversely affected.

In August 2013, we, Warby Parker Retail, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, and the other co-borrowers party thereto from time to time, entered into the Loan and Security Agreement with Comerica Bank, or the Credit Facility, as amended, that consists of a revolving credit line of up to $50.0 million. The revolving credit line has a sub-limit of up to $15.0 million for the issuance of letters of credit. Borrowings under the revolving credit line bear interest on the principal amount outstanding at a variable interest rate based on either LIBOR or the bank’s prime rate (as defined in the credit agreement), with no additional margin. We are charged fees on the uncommitted portion of the credit line of approximately 0.2% as long as total borrowings remain less than $15.0 million.

In February and March 2020, we borrowed a total of $30.9 million under the Credit Facility, which was fully repaid in August 2020.

Other than letters of credit of $5.4 million and $3.7 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively, there were no other borrowings outstanding under the Credit Facility as of December 31, 2019 and 2020.

The following table summarizes our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, and the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2021:

Net cash provided by operating activities was $21.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, consisting of break-even net income, adjusted for $23.0 million of non-cash expenses and $1.6 million of net cash used as a result of changes in operating assets and liabilities. The non-cash charges included $14.5 million of depreciation and amortization and $8.5 million of stock-based compensation. The changes in operating assets and liabilities were primarily driven by an increase in accounts payable, deferred rent, deferred revenue, and accrued expenses, partially offset by an increase in net inventory to support the growth of our business.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $32.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, consisting of a net loss of $55.9 million, adjusted for $63.3 million of non-cash expenses and $25.4 million of net cash provided as a result of changes in operating assets and liabilities. The non-cash charges included $44.9 million of stock-based compensation and $18.4 million of depreciation and amortization. The changes in operating assets and liabilities were primarily driven by an increase in accrued expenses, accounts payable, deferred revenue, and deferred rent, partially offset by an increase in net inventory to support the growth of our business.

Net cash used in operating activities was $4.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020, consisting of a net loss of $10.0 million, adjusted for $10.3 million of non-cash expenses and $5.0 million of net cash used as a result of changes in operating assets and liabilities. The non-cash charges included $9.0 million of depreciation and

amortization and $1.3 million of stock-based compensation. The changes in operating assets and liabilities were primarily driven by an increase in net inventory to support the growth of our business and a decrease in deferred revenue, partially offset by increases in accounts payable and accrued expenses and a decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets.

Net cash used in operating activities was $5.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, consisting of a net loss of $7.3 million, adjusted for $21.5 million of non-cash expenses and $19.3 million of net cash used as a result of changes in operating assets and liabilities. The non-cash charges included $11.7 million of stock-based compensation and $9.8 million of depreciation and amortization. The changes in operating assets and liabilities were primarily driven by decreases in deferred revenue, accounts payable and accrued expenses, and an increase in inventory, partially offset by an increase in deferred rent.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, net cash used in investing activities was $32.6 million related to purchases of property and equipment to support our growth, primarily related to the build-out of new retail stores, as well as investments in capitalized software development costs.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, net cash used in investing activities was $20.1 million related to purchases of property and equipment to support our growth, primarily related to the build-out of new retail stores, as well as investments in our corporate facilities and capitalized software development costs.

For the six months ended June 30, 2020, net cash used in investing activities was $11.1 million related to purchases of property and equipment to support our growth, primarily related to the build-out of new retail stores, as well as investments in our corporate facilities and capitalized software development costs.

For the six months ended June 30, 2021, net cash used in investing activities of $21.2 million related to purchases of property and equipment to support our growth, primarily related to the build-out of new retail stores, as well as investments in our supply chain infrastructure and capitalized software development costs.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, net cash used in financing activities was $83.4 million, which was primarily related to $79.5 million of stock repurchases made during the year.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, net cash provided by financing activities was $245.9 million, which was primarily related to $243.6 million of net proceeds from our Series F and Series G redeemable convertible preferred stock issuances.

For the six months ended June 30, 2020, net cash provided by financing activities was $155.7 million, which was primarily related to $124.7 million of net proceeds from our Series F redeemable convertible preferred stock issuance and $30.9 million of a drawdown on our line of credit.

For the six months ended June 30, 2021, net cash used in financing activities was $27.2 million, which was primarily related to repurchases of stock during the period, including shares repurchased in connection with our Tender Offer.

The following table summarizes our contractual obligations and commitments as of December 31, 2020:

For additional discussion on our operating lease obligations, see Note 9 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Subsequent to December 31, 2020, we entered into 20 operating lease agreements and extended the terms of three existing operating lease agreements for retail and laboratory space in the U.S. Total commitments under the new agreements are approximately $22.5 million.

We enter into standby letters of credit to secure certain leases in lieu of a cash security deposit. We had issued letters of credit of $3.7 million and $3.6 million as of December 31, 2020 and June 30, 2021, respectively, under our Credit Facility. We did not have any other off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2020 and June 30, 2021.

Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position because of adverse changes in financial market prices and rates. Our market risk exposure is primarily a result of exposure resulting from potential changes in currency rates, interest rates, or inflation.

We are exposed to changes in foreign currency rates as a result of our foreign operations and international suppliers from whom we purchase in Japanese yen and euros. Revenue and income generated by our operations in Canada and our cost of goods sold will increase or decrease compared to prior periods as a result of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. We do not believe that foreign exchange rates have a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2021 consisted of $260.7 million in cash and money-market funds. Such interest-earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. The goals of our investment policy are liquidity and capital preservation. We do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes and have not used any derivative financial instruments to manage our interest rate exposure. We believe that we do not have any material exposure to changes in the fair value of these assets as a result of changes in interest rates due to the short-term nature of our cash and cash equivalents.

We do not believe that inflation has had a material effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. If our costs become subject to significant inflationary pressures, we may not be able to fully offset such higher costs with increased revenue. Our inability or failure to do so could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported revenue generated and expenses incurred during the reporting periods, as well as related disclosures. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of

which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities and the amount of revenue and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions, and any such differences may be material. We believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.

Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or estimated realizable value, with cost determined on a weighted average cost basis. The company continuously evaluates the composition of its inventory and makes adjustments when the cost of inventory is not expected to be fully recoverable. The estimated net realizable value of inventory is determined based on an analysis of historical sales trends, the impact of market trends and economic conditions, and a forecast of future demand. Adjustments for damaged inventory are recorded primarily based on actual damaged inventory. Adjustments for inventory shrink, representing the physical loss of inventory, are estimated based on historical experience and are adjusted based upon physical inventory counts. Actual results may differ from estimates due to the quantity and mix of products in inventory, consumer preferences, and economic and market conditions. Our historical estimates of these costs and the related provisions have not differed materially from actual results. However, unforeseen adverse future economic and market conditions, such as those resulting from disease pandemics and other catastrophic events, could result in our actual results differing materially from our estimates.

We recognize compensation expense for stock-based awards based on the grant date fair value, on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the awards, which is generally the vesting term of the outstanding stock awards. Compensation expense for performance awards is recognized when it is determined that it is probable that the vesting conditions will be satisfied.

We estimate the fair value of options on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, which utilizes assumptions subject to management estimate. These assumptions include estimating the expected term, or the length of time employees will retain their vested stock options before exercising them, the estimated volatility of our common stock price over the expected term, the fair value of our stock, the risk-free interest rate, and the expected dividend yield. Changes in these assumptions can materially affect the estimate of fair value of stock-based compensation. We account for forfeitures as they occur.

The following range of assumptions was used for options granted during the year ended December 31, 2019 (no options were granted in 2020) and the six months ended June 30, 2021:

Restricted stock units, or RSUs, issued by us vest upon the satisfaction of both a service-based and a liquidity-event performance-based requirement. The service-based vesting conditions are satisfied so long as the participant remains in service and employed by us as of each of the vesting dates, which is generally over four years. The liquidity-based vesting condition is satisfied upon (i) an initial public offering or (ii) change in control of the company as defined in our equity incentive plans. The RSUs vest on the first date upon which both the service-based and liquidity-event performance-based requirements are satisfied. If the RSUs vest, we will deliver one share of common stock for each vested RSU on the settlement date. Unvested RSUs expire in seven years from the date of grant.

We have concluded that as of December 31, 2019 and 2020 and June 30, 2021, it is not probable that the liquidity-event performance-based vesting condition will occur, and therefore did not record any stock-based compensation expense to date for any RSUs. In the period in which the liquidity-event performance-based condition becomes probable, we will record a cumulative catch-up expense for the service period completed to such date and will begin recording stock-based compensation expense using the accelerated attribution method, net of forfeitures, based on the grant-date fair value of the RSUs for awards where the service period is not complete.

Because our common stock is not publicly traded, our board of directors exercises significant judgment in determining the fair value of our common stock on the date of each stock-based grant, with input from management, and based on several objective and subjective factors. In determining the fair value of our common stock, our board of directors considered the prices of our redeemable convertible preferred stock sold to outside investors in arms-length transactions; the rights, preferences, and privileges of our redeemable convertible preferred stock relative to our common stock; our operating and financial performance; our stage of development and current business conditions and projections affecting our business. Such conditions and projections include the introduction of new products and services; the likelihood of achieving a liquidity event for the shares of common stock underlying these stock options, such as a qualified public offering or sale of our company, in light of prevailing market conditions; any adjustment necessary to recognize a lack of a liquid trading market for our common stock; the market performance of comparable publicly traded companies; and the overall U.S. economic, regulatory, and capital market conditions. In addition, we also considered any secondary transactions involving our common stock. In our evaluation of those transactions, we considered the facts and circumstances of each transaction to determine the extent to which they represented a fair value exchange. Factors considered include transaction volume, timing, whether the transactions occurred among willing and unrelated parties, and whether the transactions involved investors with access to our financial information.

In valuing our common stock, we first determined the equity value using both the income and market approach valuation methods. In addition, we also considered values implied by sales of redeemable convertible preferred and common stock, if applicable. We then allocated the equity value to our classes of stock using an option-pricing model, or OPM, or Probability Weighted Expected Return Method, or PWERM.

The income approach estimates equity value based on the expectation of future cash flows that a company will generate. These future cash flows, and an assumed terminal value, are discounted to their present values using a discount rate based on a weighted-average cost of capital that reflects the risks inherent in the cash flows. The market approach estimates equity value based on a comparison of the subject company to comparable public companies in a similar line of business. From the comparable companies, a representative market value multiple is determined and then applied to the subject company’s financial forecasts to estimate the value of the subject company.

Once we determined an equity value, we used a combination of approaches to allocate the equity value to each of our classes of stock. We have historically used the OPM, and more recently used the OPM in combination with the PWERM. The OPM allocates values to each equity class by creating a series of call options on our equity value,

with exercise prices based on the liquidation preferences, participation rights, and strike prices of the equity instruments. Using the PWERM, the value of our common stock is estimated based upon a probability-weighted analysis of varying values for our common stock assuming possible future events, which include an initial public offering, merger or sale, dissolution, or continued operation as a private company. In determining the estimated fair value of our common stock, we considered the fact that our stockholders could not freely trade our common stock in the public markets. Accordingly, we also applied a lack of marketability discount to the equity value.

Following this offering, it will not be necessary to estimate the fair value of our common stock, as the shares will be traded in the public market, and the fair value of our common stock will be based on the closing price as reported by the NYSE.

Management makes estimates, assumptions, and judgments to determine our provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities, and any valuation allowance recorded against deferred tax assets. We utilize the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes. Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes, as well as operating loss, capital loss, and tax credit carryforwards. Valuation allowances are established against deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that they will not be realized.

Our policy is to recognize interest and penalties expense, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense.

In the preparation of the consolidated financial statements that are included in this prospectus, our management has determined that we have material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. The material weaknesses identified relate to (i) information technology general controls, in the areas of user access and program change management, over our key accounting, reporting, and proprietary systems and (ii) certain process and application controls within our financial reporting processes to enforce segregation of duties, prevent and detect errors, support timely reconciliation and analysis of certain key accounts, and enable the review of manual journal entries. We have concluded that these material weaknesses arose because, as a private company, we did not have the necessary business processes, systems, personnel, and related internal controls necessary to satisfy the accounting and financial reporting requirements of a public company.

In order to remediate these material weaknesses, we have made progress in the following actions, among others:

We will not be able to fully remediate these material weaknesses until these steps have been completed and have been operating effectively for a sufficient period of time.

Furthermore, we cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, and actions we may take in the future, will be sufficient to remediate the control deficiencies that led to our material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting or that they will prevent or avoid potential future material weaknesses. Our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in our business. Further, weaknesses in our disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting may be discovered in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods.

In accordance with the provisions of the JOBS Act, we and our independent registered public accounting firm were not required to, and did not, perform an evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020 nor any period subsequent in accordance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Therefore, we cannot assure you that we have identified all, or that we will not in the future have additional, material weaknesses. Material weaknesses may still exist when we report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act after the completion of this listing. See the section titled “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Ownership of Our Class A Common Stock—We identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and we may identify additional material weaknesses in the future that may cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or result in material misstatements of our financial statements. If our remediation of such material weaknesses is not effective, or if we fail to develop and maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable laws and regulations could be materially and adversely affected.”

See Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for a description of recently adopted accounting pronouncements and recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted.

We currently qualify as an “emerging growth company” under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. Accordingly, we are provided the option to adopt new or revised accounting guidance either (i) within the same periods as those otherwise applicable to non-emerging growth companies or (ii) within the same time periods as private companies. We have elected to adopt new or revised accounting guidance within the same time period as private companies, unless management determines it is preferable to take advantage of early adoption provisions offered within the applicable guidance. Our utilization of these transition periods may make it difficult to compare our financial statements to those of non-emerging growth companies and other emerging growth companies that have opted out of the transition periods afforded under the JOBS Act.

We started Warby Parker 11 years ago to solve our own problems as frustrated consumers and to make a positive impact. We aspired to demonstrate that a business could scale, be profitable, and do good in the world—without charging a premium for it. Since our founding in 2010, we have pioneered ideas, designed products, and developed technologies that help people see. We offer everything our customers need for happier eyes at a price that leaves them with money in their pocket, from designer-quality glasses (starting at $95, including prescription lenses) and contacts, to eye exams and vision tests—and they can meet us online, at our retail stores, or even at home. Wherever and whenever they need it, we’re there to make exceptional vision care simple and accessible. Delightful, too.

We also believe that everyone has the right to see. Glasses enable people to learn, work, and navigate the world with more security and dignity, but 2.5 billion people around the world who need them do not have access. To help address this problem, we partner with nonprofit organizations like VisionSpring to ensure that for every pair of glasses sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need. VisionSpring estimates that, on average, a pair of glasses improves personal productivity by 35% and increases monthly income by up to 20%. Through our Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program, we have helped distribute over eight million pairs of glasses to people in need since inception.

And we are just getting started.

Warby Parker is a mission-driven, lifestyle brand that operates at the intersection of design, technology, healthcare, and social enterprise. We stand for fun, creativity, and doing good in the world. Every day, our team of nearly 3,000 team members is focused on our mission to inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose, and style (without charging a premium for it). Our ultimate objective is to provide vision for all.

When we launched the business in February of 2010, less than 2.5% of glasses were sold online—yet we believed that if we offered high-quality, uniquely designed glasses for a reasonable price point, with mechanisms to try them on like our Home Try-On program, and outstanding customer service, people would be willing to buy eyewear online for the first time. We reached our first-year sales targets in three weeks, sold out of our top 15 styles in four weeks, and built a waitlist of thousands of customers for our first-of-its-kind Home Try-On. Those first few months were chaotic to say the least, but we learned a lot.

Even without inventory, we were determined to make our early adopters’ experiences as remarkable as possible. Our founders and early employees reached out to every customer on our waitlist, answered calls and emails late into the night, and welcomed customers into our apartments to try on our debut collection. These actions laid the groundwork for how we would not only manage—but work to exceed—customer expectations moving forward.

A pioneer of the direct-to-consumer model, Warby Parker is one of the fastest-growing brands at scale in the United States. Through our multichannel business, we have unlocked access to affordable, quality eye care for millions, starting with our two-million-and-growing active customer base as of June 30, 2021.

Since day one, Warby Parker’s focus on delighting customers and doing good has created a foundation for continuous innovation:

We expect these investments in our products, our customer experience, and our communities to continue to pay off over time, enabling us to attract and retain passionate and motivated employees, create stronger brand loyalty, increase brand awareness, expand customer lifetime value, lower Customer Acquisition Cost, and more.

For the years ended December 31, 2018 (unaudited), 2019, and 2020:

For the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2021:

For a definition of adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, and a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see the section titled “Prospectus Summary—Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data—Key Business Metrics and Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

As of December 31, 2018, 2019, and 2020, and June 30, 2021, the key operational metrics of our business included:

For a definition of Store Count and Active Customers see the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Business Metrics and Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

We’ve deliberately been doing things differently from the beginning—and 11 years in, we’re still at it: surprising and delighting our customers by anticipating changing needs and technologies, and building rich and lasting customer relationships that enable us to deliver a highly personalized shopping experience for everyone, no matter the platform. All of this is accomplished alongside our efforts to create impact and do good.

Our stakeholder-centric ethos guides us in every decision we make, which we believe leads to sustainable and durable growth, sometimes at the expense of short-term profits, but we expect investments in these areas to pay off over time. We believe our approach reflects the future of doing business and creates the type of impact-driven, authentic brand that customers not only admire, but demand.

As we continuously seek to elevate the seamless customer experience, we leverage multiple components of our business model, including:

The U.S. eyewear market is large and growing. The Vision Council defines the U.S. eyewear market in 2020 as an approximately $35 billion industry that has exhibited consistent, stable growth across multiple economic cycles, and estimates the U.S. glasses market to be approximately $21 billion. Independent optical retailers made up approximately 51% of all optical retail sales in 2020, while the remainder of optical retail sales came from optical retail chains. Globally, the eyewear market is over $140 billion, according to Statista and internal company estimates. The industry includes optical retailers’ revenue from the sales of products (including glasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses) and eye care services provided by vision care professionals, including eye exams.

The eyewear industry is resilient to economic cycles given its medical and non-discretionary nature and is defined by durable fundamentals and trends including:

The eye care industry has largely been slow to innovate, despite strong and defensible fundamentals. Many customers wear their glasses every day; it’s not only a medical device, but a fashion accessory that is core to one’s identity. Yet, the legacy journey to purchasing these products is far from the delight-inducing experience customers desire—especially when incurring a significant out-of-pocket expense. The process of buying eyewear has lacked an engaging customer experience and has historically been defined by:

The legacy optical industry is highly concentrated amongst a few industry players that have created an illusion of choice, as consumers are often unaware that power is consolidated among a handful of companies, whose influence spans the full eyewear value chain, from design, to manufacturing, distribution, retailing, and insurance. While there are over 41,000 optical retail stores in the U.S. as of 2020, both eyewear brands sold and insurance used remain highly concentrated. Vision insurance plans function like prepaid spending accounts, reducing the out-of-pocket cost of routine eye exams and glasses or contact lenses, in exchange for a monthly premium. Vision insurance providers are not neutral to the optical ecosystem. “In-network” often serves as a means to impact the channels through which consumers shop and, in turn, influence pricing.

Eyewear is unique as it’s both a style choice (“I want it”) and a medical necessity (“I need it”). The legacy purchase experience, however, has primarily emphasized eyewear’s medical attributes. At Warby Parker, we believe

customers should be able to purchase high-quality eyewear online or in an engaging retail store environment with helpful, friendly associates committed to delivering a fun experience, all at a unified and transparent price.

The following strengths shape Warby Parker’s unique value proposition, helping the brand inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose, and style while driving continued success and differentiation:

As we aspire towards continued ambitious, sustainable growth, we plan to leverage distinct growth strategies to increase our 1% of market share by net revenue as of December 31, 2020:

For each of these opportunities, we have established businesses that are growing rapidly and can scale over time.

An amazing customer experience at Warby Parker is no accident—it happens when every possible path to our product is as delightful and thoughtful as the next.

Since our launch, we have expanded our product offering, creating a seamless and convenient shopping experience for customers interested in not only buying eyeglasses but also sunglasses (with or without prescription lenses), light-responsive lenses, blue-light-filtering lenses, contact lenses, and more. We’ve also introduced services like comprehensive eye exams and groundbreaking in-house technologies like Virtual Vision Test and Virtual Try-On that enhance the overall customer experience. This ongoing innovation is driven by our team’s commitment to solving real consumer problems while building a holistic vision care offering that is unparalleled within the market.

Our holistic vision care offering leads to higher, “stickier” customer value over time. Customers who purchase our holistic offering (glasses, contacts, and exams) have a cumulative average value that is 2.2x higher after one year than customers who just purchase glasses (and 1.5x higher at initial purchase). These holistic vision care customers accounted for less than 1% of customers in 2020. Further, customers who purchase contact lenses with another product have a cumulative average value that is 2x higher than the average value of their initial purchase.

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Every pair of Warby Parker glasses and sunglasses is dreamed up in-house, where our team gathers inspiration, sketches designs, and maps out product details for prototyping. We launch more than 20 new collections each year, often incorporating patented designs and extended sizing to offer our customers products that not only fit well but look great. As for frame materials, we’re selecting premium—from custom-designed cellulose acetate to ultra-lightweight titanium. Our frames come standard with impact-resistant polycarbonate lenses that block 100% of UVA and UVB rays, plus all our glasses lenses are equipped, at no extra cost, with scratch-resistant and anti-reflective coatings.

Customers can customize their prescription lenses with a variety of lens options, including single-vision, progressive, light-responsive, blue-light-filtering, and non-prescription. We custom-cut and polish the edges of our lenses, and individually inspect and bench-align each pair before it’s packaged up and sent on its way to the customer.

Even before a frame becomes a frame, we’re choosing vendors, selecting materials (we’re known for developing specialty acetates with the help of incredibly skilled partners), and performing rigorous product testing with the assistance of third-party agencies, all in the name of the highest quality and safety standards. Our eyewear is considered a medical device by the FDA and regulated as such, and we are subject to the requirements set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC.

Warby Parker sells its own brand of contacts, Scout by Warby Parker, as well as third-party contact lenses; this allows us to provide customers a truly comprehensive vision care offering.

Launched in 2019, Scout by Warby Parker contact lenses are made from a super-moist material that resists drying for lasting hydration and comfort—and they incorporate Centraform technology, which results in a smooth edge design that potentially reduces the likelihood you’ll feel the lens in your eye. For an added touch of convenience, each Scout lens comes in an innovative, space-saving flat pack that’s easier to transport and store than a traditional contact blister pack, and uses almost 80% less packaging than traditional daily contact packs. The flat pack design is designed to improve hygiene in that it presents the outer surface of the lens facing up, reducing the need to touch the inner surface, which can transfer bacteria and debris into your eye.

We offer multiple ways for customers to get prescriptions and keep their vision in tip-top shape. From friendly and knowledgeable in-person exams at 91 of our retail stores to innovative telehealth services like our Virtual Vision Test app, we provide access to convenient and accessible vision services for primary vision care needs through optometrists employed either by us or by independent professional corporations or similar entities with whom we have contractual arrangements. Throughout their shopping experience, our patients’ health and happiness is our top priority. In several states where we operate, state laws that relate to the corporate practice of medicine require only medical professionals or a professional entity wholly owned by licensed physicians, optometrists, or other licensed medical professionals to provide medical care to patients, and many states have some form of fee-splitting law. In many of our retail stores, we have contractual relationships with optometrists or professional entities that employ ophthalmologists and/or optometrists to provide medical services to our customers. See “—Government Regulation—Corporate Practice of Medicine/Optometry and Similar Laws.”

We started out selling our frames exclusively online—which was a novel concept in 2010. Our Home Try-On program was designed to make it extremely easy and fun for anyone to find the perfect frame, with all the convenience and none of the stress or uncertainty of other online shopping experiences. Customers can pick five of their favorites on our site (or get tailored suggestions after taking a quick quiz) and try them at home for five full days. Oh, and it’s free!

The Home Try-On program is very unique to our business. It is a viral brand awareness program that pays for itself as we maintain an exceptionally high conversion rate from Home Try-On purchases.

As of June 30, 2021, our retail footprint included 145 retail stores, including 142 locations in the U.S. and 3 locations in Canada. We are located in 35 states or provinces, 99 cities, and 55 Core Markets, and our retail stores are in 45 of the 50 most populous markets in the U.S. All of our retail stores are corporate-owned, and we have no franchise retail stores, which allows us complete control over the customer experience. We have a variety of location types ranging from, as of June 30, 2021, street (44%), outdoor centers (31%), and indoor centers (25%), meeting our consumers at their shopping destination of choice.

Our retail stores introduce the brand to new consumers, strengthen relationships with existing customers, and create environments that celebrate the breadth of our vision care offerings, from glasses to contact lenses and eye exams. On average, we have observed total market sales increase over 250% in the first year after opening the first retail store in that market. During the first year of opening, e-commerce sales growth slows as the market rebalances between online and store sales. After this initial period, we see e-commerce growth rates normalize to the same level as our purely e-commerce markets that have no store presence. For example, our total sales in Atlanta grew over 295% in the year following our first store opening in September 2014, while e-commerce sales declined by 3% over the same period. In the following two years, e-commerce sales growth normalized to 32% and 33%, respectively. As of June 30, 2021, we now have three stores in the Atlanta market, with continued opportunity to grow as our Customer Market Share in Atlanta remains at less than 2%. We observed a similar trend in Dallas. After the first store opening, we achieved total sales growth of 194% in the year following our first store opening in June 2014. Over the same period, e-commerce sales declined by 10%, but normalized to over 34% growth in year two and three. As of June 30, 2021, we operate six stores in Dallas, yet our Customer Market Share remains low at 2.8%. As we open additional retail stores in existing markets, we continue to build on the initial momentum and observe consistent growth in our e-commerce channel within these markets. We define Customer Market Share as the number of unique Warby Parker customers over the trailing three years as of December 31, 2020 (to reflect the average repurchase cycle of two to two and a half years for eyeglasses) divided by the number of U.S. adults using some form of vision correction, sourced from VisionWatch. We present Customer Market Share because we consider this metric to be important indicators of our brand reach relative to our competitors and believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry. Management uses Customer Market Share as a measurement of our ability to reach customers with our products in a given market.

Buying eyewear is not an activity historically associated with goosebump-inducing delight, but we are committed to reinventing the experience. Each of our retail stores is uniquely designed with the customer in mind and we invest in the consumer journey to best meet each individual customer’s needs.

We’ve always thought that shopping for eyewear should feel a little like browsing at a library—leisurely, filled with pleasant surprises, and especially fun to do with a friend in tow—so our retail stores are designed with those readers’ retreats in mind. Terrazzo-tiled floors, brass detailing, custom walnut shelving, and books aplenty (we’ve even published some of our own!) welcome our customers inside, where they can get one-on-one styling advice from our super friendly retail advisors and consult opticians for technical expertise. For many locations, we work with local artists on custom pieces to animate the space and amuse the eye.

In 2014, we built our own proprietary retail point of sale system called Point of Everything (P.O.E. for short) that has nine applications covering every part of the customer journey, making it easier for our advisors to help customers and in turn improving the overall in-store experience.

We also offer in-person eye exams in our retail stores. We currently operate two different models for offering in-person eye exams: (1) where we directly employ the optometrist and collect revenue from the eye exam, and (2) where we license exam space to an independent optometrist and do not collect any revenue from the eye exam or independent practice. The decision about which exam model to offer at a retail store is largely driven by state regulations related to the corporate practice of medicine and optometry, which are intended to prevent unlicensed persons from interfering with or influencing the physician’s or optometrist’s professional judgment and prohibit the sharing of professional service fees with non-professional or business interests. See “—Government Regulation—Corporate Practice of Medicine/Optometry and Similar Laws.”

We endeavor to attract, recruit, and hire retail store employees with diverse perspectives and experiences so that people feel included, engaged, and valued. We want this to resonate with customers to further enhance the in-store experience.

We believe our retail footprint and customer experience contribute to our highly productive store economics. We have historically targeted, and continue to target, Four-Wall Margins of 35% and Average Sales Per Square Foot of $2,900. On average, our retail stores achieve profitability shortly after they open and seek payback of invested capital on average in under 20 months. Furthermore, we have found that our retail store productivity generally improves over time as it builds its loyal local customer base while continuously attracting new customers.

Our U.S. retail footprint has a long runway for expansion. Based on analysis we conducted with a third-party research firm, our retail footprint has room to expand in the U.S. to 900+ retail stores. The analysis was conducted based on existing store characteristics, customer demographics, and product offerings, and did not take into account scaling future product or service offerings. In 2021, we are on track to open 30 to 35 retail stores given retail stores already opened, in development, or with leases signed. We are highly selective and discerning about each retail store we open; we seek new retail store payback of under 20 months and Four-Wall Margins of 35%. We believe our retail stores embody the brand, are efficient customer acquisition vehicles, and will generate significant free cash flow over time.

Warby Parker’s e-commerce performance has been the underpinning of our early retail strategy—opening retail stores in locations with rich consumer demand and strong demographic alignment to our target consumer profile. Since those early retail store openings in 2013, Warby Parker has enriched our site-selection approach, blending e-commerce data with our data-driven institutional knowledge about what has produced our highest-performing retail stores; we also keep a pulse on market data and complementary retailers. The keystone to our strategy is ensuring each retail store location—whether on proven, retail-oriented streets or in high-performing shopping centers—communicates the brand in a consistent and engaging manner to all customers, past, current, and potential.

Our retail strategy is thoughtful and data-driven, creative and colorful, and consistent with the Warby Parker brand. This blend has worked for us to date and will continue to guide our site selection for the next hundreds of retail stores and beyond.

As we grow, we will continue our strategy of selectively opening distinctive stores in select locations in the U.S. and Canada. We may look to expand into international markets where the regulatory and insurance market structures are similar to the United States and Canada.

It’s critically important that Warby Parker’s continued growth reflects why we launched the business 11 years ago: to solve real customer problems while incorporating style, convenience, quality, impact, and innovation. The following projects provide a glimpse into how our team of in-house technologists and strategists tackles opportunities using proprietary technology and creative design solutions.

The Warby Parker supply chain is an agile and integrated network that works to get the right order to the right place at the right time. We partner with a large network of more than 30 partners for frame factories, lens and case/kit suppliers, distribution centers, optical labs, and freight-forwarding and logistics companies all over the globe. We also leverage our retail locations and in-house optical lab in Sloatsburg, New York. Additionally, we intend to further expand our network by opening a second in-house optical lab in Las Vegas, Nevada in September 2021.

In addition to fulfilling prescription eyewear orders, our supply chain also supports the Warby Parker Home Try-On program, contacts, sunglasses, gift cards, accessories, and returns fulfillment, as well as the distribution of all goods. These operations are handled out of multiple fulfillment centers in the U.S.

All of our frames are designed at our New York City headquarters, and we handpick raw materials and the suppliers who have the expertise and skill to bring them to life. These deliberate decisions help us stay true to our original aesthetic vision as well as regulatory and performance results. We work with raw material vendors on

proprietary development, in addition to frame suppliers on their production methods and machinery to achieve best-in-class performance standards.

Transparency is a crucial element in our vendor relationships. We work directly with manufacturers and raw material suppliers, most notably in China, Japan, Vietnam, and Italy, so we know exactly where and how our products are being manufactured. We regularly bring Warby Parker liaisons to our partner facilities to help us better support and inspect our vendors in following our manufacturing specifications. Monthly material forecasts allow vendors to prepare for any constraints created by peak business needs and check that they will be able to accommodate demand. In addition, our Vendor Compliance Manual details volume and financial penalties incurred if our preferred material or component suppliers are not used, and quarterly reviews ensure there are no surprises.

Before a frame becomes a frame, we’re choosing vendors, selecting materials (we’ve been known to develop specialty acetates with the help of incredibly skilled partners), and performing rigorous product testing with the assistance of third-party agencies, all in the name of the highest quality and safety standards. Our eyewear is considered a medical device by the FDA and regulated as such—so, where applicable, we follow the requirements set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We also comply with standards set by the American National Standards Institute for prescription eyewear and sunglasses (both prescription and non-prescription). All our vendors are compliant with the European CE standard, and Warby Parker frames are stamped with the certification mark that indicates conformity with health, safety, and environmental protection standards for products sold within the European Economic Area.

Vendors may only use raw materials and suppliers recommended by Warby Parker to ensure expected results in final third-party testing; these suppliers must submit either internal or third-party test results for both regulatory and performance parameters well before the product reaches the customer. We partner with international third-party testing agencies to verify the results and to also create additional product performance testing protocols, to make sure our frames are built to last and that they perform beautifully for as long as they are worn. These additional protocols range from exposing our eyeglasses and sunglasses to salt water or air (to see if the metal plating fades or rusts) to checking that components of frames constructed with mixed materials are not shrinking at different rates in extreme temperatures and humidity; this means they’re less susceptible to coming apart. If a frame safety issue is ever suspected, our Product Strategy team will investigate the lot number, time of shipment, and vendor to identify and, if necessary, correct the problem.

The Warby Parker brand is optimistic, friendly, and impactful. Our marketing strategies bring this to life in engaging, multi-faceted ways that reinforce our unique positioning and value proposition.

Brand Management functions as an integrated and aligned team that focuses on creating and promoting the images, stories, and experiences that drive, elevate, inspire, and expand the Warby Parker brand and business. Our in-house Brand Design team ideates and crafts medium-agnostic creative concepts, enabling us to produce impactful, multi-channel campaigns (across print, digital, and TV ads) in compelling yet cost efficient ways.

As we bring those concepts to life, we focus on acquiring new users via organic and paid channels, retaining and engaging existing users through our own communication channels (e.g., email, push, and SMS), and celebrating the brand through in-person events and experiences. Our approach to integrated brand management drives a strong connection to, and advocacy of, the Warby Parker brand, which in turn drives brand awareness and growth.

We generate organic marketing through word-of-mouth and non-paid referrals, campaigns, and partnerships, as well as social media engagement via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, dimensionalizing the brand in ways that drive user activity and engagement.

Over the years, we’ve brought the brand to life in numerous ways, from cross-country activations to intimate gatherings; from unexpected collaborations to surprise parades; from engaging social media interactions to multimedia campaigns. Here is a sampling of some of our brand-defining moments:

Glasses enable people to learn, work, and navigate the world with more security and dignity, but 2.5 billion people around the world who need them don’t have access; of these, 624 million are considered to be visually impaired.

We work with a handful of organizations worldwide to ensure that for every pair of Warby Parker glasses sold, we help distribute a pair to someone in need. Our partners prioritize countries and communities where the need is greatest, as measured against existing limitations of access to vision care and glasses. We are often providing these to communities that have no other options. There are two distribution models we employ:

Through our Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program, over eight million pairs of glasses have been distributed—which means over eight million more people now have the glasses they need to learn, work, and achieve better economic outcomes.

Competition in the eyewear industry is principally on the basis of brand image and recognition, as well as product quality, price, innovation, and style. We believe that we successfully compete on the basis of our highly compelling price point combined with uncompromising quality, differentiated consumer experience, and an authentic brand promise. In addition, we believe our vertically integrated supply chain allows us more effective control over our product and brand. We are also differentiated by our cross-platform, multi-generational creative and marketing strategies that increases brand-awareness and strengthens consumer loyalty. Half the market is fragmented and eyewear is sold through independent optical shops who drive the majority of their revenue through eyewear sales. This is unique in the medical world as it’s one of the only places where a prescribing doctor can sell you the product they prescribe.

The eyewear market consists of a fragmented retail channel with an imbalance of asset concentration and significant markups. We are in direct competition with large, integrated optical players that have multiple brands and retail banners, such as EssilorLuxottica and VSP. This competition takes place both in physical retail locations as well as online.

We are subject to a wide variety of complex laws and regulations in the United States and other jurisdictions in which we operate. The laws and regulations govern many issues related to our business practices, including those regarding vision care, state optical and optometry regulations, licensing, healthcare, fraud and abuse, corporate practice of medicine, contact lens prescriptions, medical device labeling and registration, worker classification, wage and hour, sick pay and leaves of absence, anti-discrimination and harassment, whistleblower protections, background checks, privacy, data security, intellectual property, health and safety, competition, advertising, consumer protection, fees and payments, pricing, product liability and disclosures, personal injury, property damage, communications, unemployment benefits, taxation, unionization and collective bargaining, contracts, arbitration agreements, class action waivers, terms of service, and accessibility of our mobile app or website.

These laws and regulations are constantly evolving and may be interpreted, applied, created, superseded, or amended in a manner that could harm our business. These changes may occur immediately or develop over time through judicial decisions or as new guidance or interpretations are provided by regulatory and governing bodies, such as federal, state, and local administrative agencies. As we expand our business into new markets or introduce new products, features, or offerings into existing markets, regulatory bodies or courts may claim that we are subject to additional requirements, or that we are prohibited from conducting business in certain jurisdictions.

Our operations are subject to state licensing laws. All states license the practice of ophthalmology and optometry and many states license opticians. The dispensing of prescription eyewear is also regulated in most states in which we do business. In some states, we are required to register our retail stores. A determination of non-compliance against us could lead to adverse judicial or administrative action, civil or criminal penalties, receipt of cease and desist orders from state regulators, suspension or loss of provider licenses, and/or restructuring of our arrangements with ophthalmologists and optometrists.

Although the majority of our revenue is derived from cash-pay consumers, we have contracts with certain vision plans, including Medicare Advantage health plans, which subject us to a number of federal and state healthcare regulatory laws, including federal and state anti-kickback, false claims, self-referral and other healthcare fraud and abuse laws, some of which apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including self-pay patients.

The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits, among other things, persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, paying, receiving, or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, to induce, or in exchange for, the referral of an individual or purchasing, furnishing, recommending or arranging for a good or service for which payment may be made under a federal healthcare program, such as Medicare or Medicaid. The definition of “remuneration” has been broadly interpreted to include anything of value, including, for example, gifts, certain discounts, the furnishing of free supplies, equipment or services, credit arrangements, payment of cash and waivers of payments. Several courts have found a violation of the statute’s intent requirement if a single purpose of an arrangement involving remuneration is to induce referrals of federal healthcare covered businesses. There

are also a number of healthcare fraud statutes that impose criminal and civil liability for, among other things, knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, or knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact, or making any materially false statement, in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items or services. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the Anti-Kickback Statute or healthcare fraud statutes, or specific intent to violate them in order to have committed a violation.

The federal Physician Self-Referral Law, or the Stark Law, generally prohibits physicians (which the Stark Law defines to also include optometrists) from referring, for certain services, Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries to any entity with which the physician or an immediate family member of the physician has a financial relationship. This law further prohibits the entity receiving a prohibited referral from presenting a claim for reimbursement by Medicare or Medicaid for services furnished pursuant to the prohibited referral. Unlike the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law is violated if the financial arrangement does not meet an applicable exception, regardless of any intent by the parties to induce or reward referrals or the reasons for the financial relationship and the referral.

The federal False Claims Act, or the FCA, prohibits a person from knowingly presenting, or cause to be presented, a false or fraudulent request for payment from the federal government, or from making a false statement or using a false record to have a claim approved. The FCA further provides that a lawsuit thereunder may be initiated in the name of the United States by an individual, a “whistleblower,” who is an original source of the allegations. Moreover, the government may assert that a claim including items and services resulting from a violation of the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute or the Stark Law constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the civil False Claims Act. Penalties for a violation of the FCA include fines for each false claim, plus up to three times the amount of damages caused by each false claim.

Further, the Civil Monetary Penalties Law authorizes the imposition of civil monetary penalties, assessments, and exclusion against an individual or entity based on a variety of prohibited conduct, including, but not limited to offering remuneration to a federal health care program beneficiary that the individual or entity knows or should know is likely to influence the beneficiary to order or receive health care items or services from a particular provider.

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, imposes criminal and civil liability for, among other things, knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, or knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing, or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statement, in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items, or services. Similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation.

The Physician Payments Sunshine Act and its implementing regulations, require, among other things, certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics, and medical supplies that are reimbursable under Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, with specific exceptions, to report annually to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, information related to certain payments and other transfers of value to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, and chiropractors), certain other healthcare professionals beginning in 2022, and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by such physicians and their immediate family members.

Several states in which we operate have also adopted similar fraud and abuse laws as described above. The scope of these laws and the interpretations of them vary from state to state and are enforced by state courts and regulatory authorities, each with broad discretion. Some state fraud and abuse laws apply to items or services reimbursed by any payor, including self-pay patients and commercial insurers, not just those reimbursed by a federally funded healthcare program.

Violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that apply may result in significant penalties, including, without limitation, administrative civil and criminal penalties, damages, disgorgement, fines, additional reporting requirements and compliance oversight obligations, contractual damages, the curtailment or restructuring of operations, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs, and/or imprisonment.

Certain state laws, commonly referred to as corporate practice of medicine or optometry, as applicable, and fee-splitting laws are intended to prevent unlicensed persons from interfering with or influencing the physician’s or optometrist’s professional judgment and prohibit the sharing of professional service fees with non-professional or business interests. Many states interpret the corporate practice of medicine/optometry rules broadly to prohibit employment of eye care practitioners by corporations like us and to prohibit various financial arrangements, such as fee-splitting, between eye care practitioners and other entities. Many states also regulate certain business practices as well as landlord-tenant arrangements between optical companies and optometrists. For example, some states prohibit a common entrance to a retail optical location and an optometric office. These laws and regulations can vary significantly by state, requiring us to tailor our operations in each state to the particular laws of such state. Many of these laws and regulations are vague and are subject to the interpretation of regulators and enforcement authorities, which may change over time. States periodically revisit these laws and regulations and we are subject to the ongoing risk that the regulatory scheme in any state can change in ways adverse to us. We have contractual relationships with optometrists or professional entities that employ ophthalmologists and/or optometrists to provide medical services to our customers. In addition, we have contractual relationships with several professional corporations or similar entities that employ ophthalmologists who review test results and renew prescriptions, as appropriate, of users of both our Virtual Vision Test mobile app and In-Store Prescription Check service. Although we strive to monitor any changes to applicable state laws that may impact these arrangements, a determination of non-compliance against us could lead to adverse judicial or administrative action, civil or criminal penalties, receipt of cease and desist orders from state regulators, suspension or loss of provider licenses, and/or restructuring of these arrangements.

From time to time, legislation is drafted and introduced in Congress that could significantly change the statutory provisions governing the regulatory approval, manufacture and marketing of regulated products or the reimbursement thereof. For example, in the U.S, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or collectively, ACA, substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers, and significantly impacted the U.S. medical device industry. Since its enactment, there have been executive, judicial, and congressional challenges to certain aspects of the ACA. On June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the most recent judicial challenge to the ACA brought by several states without specifically ruling on the constitutionality of the ACA. In addition, the Budget Control Act of 2011, as amended by subsequent legislation, further reduces Medicare payments to providers by two percent through fiscal year 2030, with the exception of a temporary suspension from May 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021. Furthermore, the healthcare industry in the U.S. has experienced a trend toward cost containment as government and private insurers seek to control healthcare costs by imposing lower payment rates and negotiating reduced contract rates with service providers. Legislation could be adopted in the future that limits payments for our products from governmental payors. It is possible that additional governmental action will be taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, because we receive, use, store, transmit, and disclose personal data, PHI and PII relating to customers on our platform, we are subject to numerous laws and regulations in the United States and other countries where we do business, as well as industry standards, relating to privacy, data security and data protection, direct marketing, and online advertising. Such laws, regulations, and industry standards include, but are not limited to, Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 and all regulations promulgated thereunder, Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, the California Online Privacy Protection Act, the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, the GDPR, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH, and its implementing regulations, that impose requirements on covered entities, including certain healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses, and their respective business associates that create, receive, maintain, or transmit individually identifiable health information for or on behalf of a covered entity as well as their covered subcontractors relating to the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information. In 2018, we experienced a credential stuffing attack in which malicious third parties used credentials compromised in data breaches suffered by other companies to access accounts on our platform and received notice that the Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would be investigating the incident and our compliance with the Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules and

requesting certain information related to the incident and our compliance with the Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. We continue to work on a resolution with OCR. OCR enforcement activity can result in financial liability and reputational harm, and responses to such enforcement activity can consume significant internal resources.

Our products and our operations are subject to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and other federal and state authorities in the United States, as well as comparable authorities in foreign jurisdictions. Our products, including eyeglasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, visual acuity software, and other ophthalmic products, are subject to regulation as medical devices in the United States under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or FDCA, as implemented and enforced by the FDA. The FDA regulates the development, design, non-clinical and clinical research, manufacturing, safety, efficacy, labeling, packaging, storage, installation, servicing, recordkeeping, premarket clearance or approval, adverse event reporting, advertising, promotion, marketing and distribution, and import and export of medical devices to ensure that medical devices distributed domestically are safe and effective for their intended uses and otherwise meet the requirements of the FDCA.

Unless an exemption applies, each medical device commercially distributed in the United States requires either FDA clearance of a 510(k) premarket notification, or approval of a premarket approval, or PMA, application. Under the FDCA, medical devices are classified into one of three classes—Class I, Class II, or Class III—depending on the degree of risk associated with each medical device and the extent of manufacturer and regulatory control needed to ensure its safety and effectiveness. Class I includes devices with the lowest risk to the patient and are those for which safety and effectiveness can be assured by adherence to the FDA’s General Controls for medical devices, which include compliance with the applicable portions of the Quality System Regulation, or QSR, facility registration and product listing, reporting of adverse medical events, and truthful and non-misleading labeling, advertising, and promotional materials. Class II devices are subject to the FDA’s General Controls, and special controls as deemed necessary by the FDA to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the device. These special controls can include performance standards, post-market surveillance, patient registries, and FDA guidance documents.

While most Class I devices are exempt from the 510(k) premarket notification requirement, manufacturers of most Class II devices are required to submit to the FDA a premarket notification under Section 510(k) of the FDCA requesting permission to commercially distribute the device. The FDA’s permission to commercially distribute a device subject to a 510(k) premarket notification is generally known as 510(k) clearance. Devices deemed by the FDA to pose the greatest risks, such as life-sustaining, life-supporting or some implantable devices, or devices that have a new intended use, or use advanced technology that is not substantially equivalent to that of a legally marketed device, are placed in Class III, requiring approval of a PMA. Some preamendment devices are unclassified, but are subject to FDA’s premarket notification and clearance process in order to be commercially distributed.

To obtain 510(k) clearance, a manufacturer must submit to the FDA a premarket notification demonstrating that the proposed device is “substantially equivalent” to a predicate device already on the market. A predicate device is a legally marketed device that is not subject to premarket approval, i.e., a device that was legally marketed prior to May 28, 1976 (pre-amendments device) and for which a PMA is not required, a device that has been reclassified from Class III to Class II or I, or a device that was found substantially equivalent through the 510(k) process. The FDA’s 510(k) clearance process usually takes from three to twelve months, but may take longer. The FDA may require additional information, including clinical data, to make a determination regarding substantial equivalence. In addition, FDA collects user fees for certain medical device submissions and annual fees for medical device establishments.

If the FDA agrees that the device is substantially equivalent to a predicate device currently on the market, it will grant 510(k) clearance to commercially market the device. If the FDA determines that the device is “not substantially equivalent” to a previously cleared device, the device is automatically designated as a Class III device. The device sponsor must then fulfill more rigorous PMA requirements, or can request a risk based classification determination for the device in accordance with the “de novo” process, which is a route to market for novel medical devices that are low to moderate risk and are not substantially equivalent to a predicate device.

After a device receives 510(k) clearance, any modification that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a major change or modification in its intended use, will require a new 510(k) clearance or, depending on the modification, PMA approval. The FDA requires each manufacturer to determine whether the proposed change requires submission of a new 510(k) in the first instance, but the FDA can review any such decision and disagree with a manufacturer’s determination. If the FDA disagrees with a manufacturer’s determination, the FDA can require the manufacturer to cease marketing and/or request the recall of the modified device until the requisite marketing authorization is obtained. Also, in these circumstances, the manufacturer may be subject to significant regulatory fines or penalties.

Over the last several years, the FDA has proposed reforms to its 510(k) clearance process, and such proposals could include increased requirements for clinical data and a longer review period, or could make it more difficult for manufacturers to utilize the 510(k) clearance process for their products. For example, in September 2019, the FDA issued revised final guidance describing an optional “safety and performance based” premarket review pathway for manufacturers of “certain, well-understood device types” to demonstrate substantial equivalence under the 510(k) clearance pathway by showing that such device meets objective safety and performance criteria established by the FDA, thereby obviating the need for manufacturers to compare the safety and performance of their medical devices to specific predicate devices in the clearance process. The FDA has developed and maintains a list of device types appropriate for the “safety and performance based” pathway and continues to develop product-specific guidance documents that identify the performance criteria for each such device type, as well as recommended testing methods, where feasible. For example, in March 2020, the FDA issued a draft guidance describing the testing performance criteria that could support a substantial equivalence determination respect to certain soft (hydrophilic) daily-wear contact lenses. If the draft guidance is finalized, manufacturers of such contact lenses would have the option to submit a 510(k) under the safety and performance based pathway, rather than submitting a traditional 510(k) premarket notification.

The PMA process is more demanding than the 510(k) premarket notification process. In a PMA, the manufacturer must demonstrate that the device is safe and effective, and the PMA must be supported by extensive data, including data from preclinical studies and human clinical trials. All clinical investigations of devices to determine safety and effectiveness must be conducted in accordance with the FDA’s investigational device exemption, or IDE, regulations which govern investigational device labeling, prohibit promotion of the investigational device, and specify an array of recordkeeping, reporting and monitoring responsibilities of study sponsors and study investigators. In addition to clinical and preclinical data, PMA must contain a full description of the device and its components, a full description of the methods, facilities, and controls used for manufacturing, and proposed labeling. Submissions of a PMA also requires payment of a substantial user fee. Following receipt of a PMA, the FDA determines whether the application is sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review. If the FDA accepts the application for review, it has 180 days under the FDCA to complete its review of a PMA, although in practice, the FDA’s review often takes significantly longer, and can take up to several years. An advisory panel of experts from outside the FDA may be convened to review and evaluate the application and provide recommendations to the FDA as to the approvability of the device. The FDA may or may not accept the panel’s recommendation. In addition, the FDA will generally conduct a pre-approval inspection of the applicant or its third-party manufacturers’ or suppliers’ facilities to ensure compliance with the QSR. The FDA will approve the new device for commercial distribution if it determines that the data and information in the PMA constitute valid scientific evidence and that there is reasonable assurance that the device is safe and effective for its intended use(s). The FDA may approve a PMA with post-approval conditions intended to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the device, including, among other things, restrictions on labeling, promotion, sale and distribution, and collection of long-term follow-up data from patients in the clinical study that supported PMA approval or requirements to conduct additional clinical studies post-approval. Certain changes to an approved device, such as changes in manufacturing facilities, methods, or quality control procedures, or changes in the design performance specifications, which affect the safety or effectiveness of the device, require submission of a PMA supplement, or in some cases a new PMA.

After a device is cleared, approved, or otherwise authorized for marketing, numerous and pervasive regulatory requirements continue to apply. These include:

Manufacturing processes for medical devices are required to comply with the applicable portions of the QSR, which cover the methods and the facilities and controls for the design, manufacture, testing, production, processes, controls, quality assurance, labeling, packaging, distribution, installation, and servicing of finished devices intended for human use. The QSR also requires, among other things, maintenance of a device master file, device history file, and complaint files. Manufacturers of medical devices are subject to periodic scheduled or unscheduled inspections by the FDA. Failure to maintain compliance with the QSR requirements could result in the shutdown of, or restrictions on, manufacturing operations and the recall or seizure of marketed products. The discovery of previously unknown problems with marketed medical devices, including unanticipated adverse events or adverse events of increasing severity or frequency, whether resulting from the use of the device within the scope of its clearance or off-label by a physician in the practice of medicine, could result in restrictions on the device, including the removal of the product from the market or voluntary or mandatory device recalls.

The FDA has broad regulatory compliance and enforcement powers. If the FDA determines that a manufacturer has failed to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, it can take a variety of compliance or enforcement actions, which may result in any of the following sanctions:

Certain of our customers receive vision insurance coverage through third-party payors, such as vision care insurers and managed care payors. We currently have relationships with only a few vision care insurers in the United States. Availability of third-party reimbursement could depend on our ability to establish relationships with vision care insurers and major carriers and to negotiate contracts with third-party payors, several of whom have significant market share. Many third-party payors have existing provider structures in place that they may be

unable or unwilling to change. Some vertically integrated payors also have their own networks, and these payors may take actions to maintain or protect these networks, including by increasing costs or not allowing new or existing stores to participate in their networks. Increasing consolidation in the optical industry may give such payors greater market power which may make it more difficult to negotiate reimbursement rates under in-network payor arrangements Third-party payors, including Medicare Advantage and commercial insurance plans, generally reimburse for the vision care services and products through payment systems managed by private insurance companies, managed care organizations, and governmental agencies. Coverage and payment levels are determined at each third-party payor’s discretion. Coverage restrictions and reductions in reimbursement levels or payment methodologies may negatively impact our sales and profits.

Since 2018, Warby Parker has published an annual Impact Report to evaluate and communicate the economic, environmental, and social impacts of our everyday business activities. Completing a yearly report, as benchmarked by the universally recognized GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) and SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) frameworks, gives us the opportunity to examine how we’re aligning with our core values, assess if we’re growing responsibly, and manage change more effectively. While the reporting is not required by law, we believe this is a critical strategic exercise as we scale our impact and our business.

Alongside the independent fair-labor monitoring group Verité, we piloted the Warby Parker Social Compliance Program in 2012 and formalized it for our direct and key indirect suppliers in 2013. All new direct and key indirect suppliers since have been screened using our social compliance criteria. One hundred percent of our active direct suppliers in China and Japan are audited to ensure compliance with our program, as well as our major suppliers in Italy. After each auditor visit, our auditors calculate an audit performance score and produce a report that outlines all open concerns, and we work with the relevant supplier on an appropriate action plan—including clear deliverables, timelines, and metrics for success—to remediate issues. All Warby Parker direct and key indirect suppliers must maintain a score of “Good” or higher. To calculate the score, we assess three categories—Management System, Labor, and Environmental Health and Safety—and within each, Policy and Procedure, Implementation, and Performance. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its early outbreak in China, where a number of our suppliers are located, our routine social compliance in-person visits were suspended for the first half of 2020, but resumed once we believed it was safe to do so in the second half of 2020.

We are committed to making sure that working conditions throughout our supplier network are safe and that employees are treated with dignity. Our Vendor Code of Conduct outlines our requirements for the fair treatment and compensation of all workers—with which we require all direct suppliers to comply—the intention of which is to ensure that our suppliers adhere to our standards on subjects such as child labor, forced labor, discrimination, harassment and abuse, wages and benefits, overtime, housing, freedom of association, subcontracting, local laws, employee feedback, health and safety, environment, and bribery.

As a demonstration of our long-term commitment to promote vision and eye health and to work towards positively impacting the communities in which we operate, we elected in June 2021 to be treated as a public benefit corporation under Delaware law.

Under Delaware law, a public benefit corporation is required to identify in its certificate of incorporation the public benefit or benefits it will promote and its directors have a duty to manage the affairs of the corporation in a manner that balances the pecuniary interests of the corporation’s stockholders, the best interests of those materially affected by the corporation’s conduct, and the specific public benefit or public benefits identified in the public benefit corporation’s certificate of incorporation. Public benefit corporations organized in Delaware are also required to assess their benefit performance internally and to disclose to stockholders at least biennially a report detailing their success in meeting their benefit objectives.

As provided in our current certificate of incorporation, the public benefits that we promote, and pursuant to which we manage our company, are to provide access to products and services that promote vision and eye health and to work towards positively impacting the communities in which we operate. See the section titled “Description of

Capital Stock—Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law and Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws—Public Benefit Corporation Status” for additional information.

Our intellectual property is an important component of our business. We rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws, as well as confidentiality procedures, non-disclosure agreements, employee non-disclosure and invention assignment agreements, and other contractual restrictions to establish and protect our intellectual property rights.

As of June 30, 2021, we held 11 issued utility patents in the United States and 17 issued utility patents outside of the United States; four design patents in the United States and 53 issued design registrations outside of the United States; and 44 utility patent applications (including active PCT applications) pending in the United States and other countries, five design patent applications pending in the United States and 23 applications for design registrations pending in other countries. While we believe our patents and patent applications in the aggregate are important to our competitive position, no single patent or patent application is material to our business as a whole.

We have trademark rights in our name and other brand indicia and have 42 trademark registrations and eight active applications for select marks in the United States as well as 107 trademark registrations and active applications in 35 other jurisdictions around the world. As of June 30, 2021, we have also registered ten copyrights in the United States. We also register domain names for certain websites that we use in our business, such as www.warbyparker.com, as well as similar variations to protect our brands and marks from cybersquatters. We continually review our development efforts to assess the existence and registrability of new intellectual property and determine whether to seek patent protection or trademark or copyright registrations.

We seek to control access to and use of our proprietary technology and other confidential information through the use of internal and external controls, including contractual protections with employees, contractors, customers, and partners. It is our practice to enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements (or similar agreements) with our employees, consultants, and contractors involved in the development of intellectual property on our behalf. We also enter into confidentiality agreements with other third parties in order to limit access to, and disclosure and use of, our confidential information and proprietary information. We further control the use of our proprietary technology and intellectual property through provisions in our terms of service. We also monitor the activities of third parties with respect to potential infringing uses of our intellectual property.

From time to time, we have faced, and we expect to face in the future, allegations by third parties, including our competitors and non-practicing entities, that we have infringed their trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property rights, or challenging the validity or enforceability of our intellectual property rights. We are not presently a party to any such legal proceedings that, in the opinion of our management, would individually or taken together have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

See the section titled “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Legal and Regulatory Environment—Failure to adequately maintain and protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights could harm our brand, devalue our proprietary content, and adversely affect our ability to compete effectively.”

Our corporate headquarters is located in New York, New York, where we lease approximately 79,474 square feet of space under a lease that expires in January 2025. We also maintain other offices in Nashville, Tennessee, principally for our customer experience employees, where we lease approximately 21,867 square feet of space under a lease that expires in August 2026, as well an additional 11,074 square feet of space in an adjoining building under a lease that expires in 2027. We operate an optical laboratory in Sloatsburg, New York, where we lease approximately 51,803 square feet of space under a lease that expires in June 2026, and have entered into a lease for the build-out of a new optical laboratory in Las Vegas, Nevada, where we lease approximately 69,580 square feet of space under a lease that expires in August 2031.

As of June 30, 2021, we operate 142 retail stores across the United States and three retail stores in Canada. All of our retail properties are leased or licensed from third parties under agreements expiring at various dates from

2021 to 2035, and the average size of our retail stores is approximately 1,590 square feet as of the date of this prospectus. The following table summarizes our domestic retail store locations by state, as of June 30, 2021: