597. Why Do Your Eyeglasses Cost $1,000?

A single company, EssilorLuxottica, owns so much of the eyewear industry that it’s hard to escape their gravitational pull — or their “obscene” markups. Should regulators do something? Can Warby Parker steal market share? And how did Ray-Bans become a luxury brand? (Part one of a two-part series.)

SOURCES:Neil Blumenthal • , co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker. Dave Gilboa • , co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker. Jessica Glasscock • , fashion historian and lecturer at the Parsons School of Design. Neil Handley • , curator of the British Optical Association Museum at the College of Optometrists. Ryan McDevitt • , professor of economics at Duke University. Cédric Rossi • , equity research analyst at Bryan Garnier. Tim Wu • , professor of law, science and technology at Columbia Law School.

RESOURCES: • " Leonardo Del Vecchio Dies at 87; Transformed Eyeglass Industry • ," by Jonathan Kandell ( The New York Times, • 2022). Making a Spectacle: A Fashionable History of Glasses, • by Jessica Glasscock (2021). • " Dave Gilboa and Neil Blumenthal: ‍A Vision for Business • ," by Lucy Handley ( CNBC, • 2020). • " The Roots of Big Tech Run Disturbingly Deep • ," by Tim Wu and Stuart A. Thompson ( The New York Times, • 2019). • " The Spectacular Power of Big Lens • ," by Sam Knight ( The Guardian, • 2018). The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age, • by Tim Wu (2018). • " Statement of the Federal Trade Commission Concerning the Proposed Acquisition of Luxottica Group S.p.A. by Essilor International (Compagnie Generale d’Optique) S.A. • ," FTC File No. 171-0060 (2018). Cult Eyewear: The World's Enduring Classics, • by Neil Handley (2011). A Far-Sighted Man, • by Luca Goldoni (1991).

EXTRAS: • " Direct-to-Consumer Mattresses • ," by The Economics of Everyday Things • (2024). • " Are Two C.E.O.s Better Than One? • " by Freakonomics Radio • (2023). • “ Are We in a Mattress-Store Bubble? • ” by Freakonomics Radio • (2016).

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