Zenni Optical
Zenni Optical
| Private company | |
| Founded | July 10, 2003[1](as 19dollareyeglasses.com) |
| Founder | Tibor Láczay (CEO) Julia Zhen (COO) |
| Headquarters | San Rafael, Marin County, California,United States |
| Products | Eyewear (prescription eye glasses and sunglasses) |
| Slogan | Eyeglasses for the masses |
| Website | ZenniOptical.com |
Zenni Optical or ZenniOptical is an online retailer of prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses. Founded in 2003 as 19dollareyeglasses.com, the company manufactures and ships its own brand of eyewear. According to *The Washington Post *, as of 2015 it is the "most widely used online sources of glasses" among Consumer Report readers. [2] It continues to be based in Marin County, California, though the glasses are manufactured in China. As of 2015 Zenni’s prescription eyeglasses start at $6.95 and are shipped both in the United States and internationally. [3]
| Private company | |
| Founded | July 10, 2003[1](as 19dollareyeglasses.com) |
| Founder | Tibor Láczay (CEO) Julia Zhen (COO) |
| Headquarters | San Rafael, Marin County, California,United States |
| Products | Eyewear (prescription eye glasses and sunglasses) |
| Slogan | Eyeglasses for the masses |
| Website | ZenniOptical.com |
History
Zenni Optical was founded as 19dollareyeglasses.com [4] by CEO Tibor Láczay and COO Julia Zhen in 2003.
[5] The company launched its own website and factory that year, expanding the factory some years later.
When the company lowered their least expensive model to under $8 in 2006, [6] their name was changed to Zenni Optical.
As of 2007, its most expensive frames were $40 "titanium half-frames," which according to *The New York Times * would have cost $250 or more if made in Italy by a designer company. [4] By August 2008 Zenni Optical was selling more than 7,000 pairs of glasses a week. As of January 2015, Zenni Optical is selling over 8,000 pairs of glasses a day. [7]
Brand and products
Zenni Optical only sells its own brand of frames, [3] many of which are similar in appearance and significantly less expensive than popular brand-name styles.
[8] Many frames include anti-scratch coating for $8 or more, [9] and Zenni also sells a line of single-vision, bifocal, and progressive lenses ranging in indexes from 1.50 – 1.74 refractive index for single-vision, 1.50 – 1.61 for bifocal, and 1.50 – 1.67 for progressive. [10] The company's website requires customers to input their prescription and PD (distance between the pupils), and includes a feature to view how glasses look on uploaded photos. [8] In 2012, Zenni began offering prism corrections for single-vision prescriptions. [10]
Philanthropy
Zenni Optical partners with Lions Clubs International’s eyeglasses donation program, donating eyeglasses directly and also making financial donations to the Lions Club. Zenni’s 2012 contribution amounted to $170,000 worth of eyeglasses. [11]