Clearly is an online retailer of contact lenses, eyeglasses and

sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names below) are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can s ...

. The company was acquired by EssilorLuxottica Canada, and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are one of the largest online contact lens retailers in North America, and the largest seller of prescription eyeglasses online in the world.Harnish, Verne
5 ways to get your business strategy right
''CNN Money''. April 6, 2011.Brohan, Mark
Groupon helps Coastal Contacts build awareness--and sales--in the U.K.
''Internet Retailer''. March 3, 2011.

History

Founded in 2000 as Coastal Contacts by Roger Hardy and his sister Michaela Hardy, who bought the keyword "contact lens" from AltaVista, which meant that all searches for "contact lens" were accompanied with Coastal Contacts' banner ads.Mitra, Sramana
Building A Niche E-Commerce powerhouse: Coastal Contacts CEO Roger Hardy
''Sramana Mitra''. November 12, 2010.Bitti, Mary
Clearly a Winning Strategy
. ''Canadian Retailer''. August 1, 2009. In the first day, they had 30 orders; within the first month, they had $68,000 in sales. In addition to their lower pricing, the firm provided same day fulfillment of online orders.Castle, Geoff
The 100-Mile Investor
''Business in Vancouver''. October 27, 2009. In 2004, Coastal Contacts raised $6 million in an initial public offering, which they used to expand into the United Kingdom and parts of Europe. In late 2004, they acquired a mail order contact lens business in Europe, LensWay. In 2006, they acquired two more companies: one in the Netherlands and one in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

.Anderson, Fiona
Doing business in China: know your customers
''The Vancouver Sun''. February 7, 2012. By 2009, the firm increased their revenue to $140 million. They moved into the eyeglasses market in 2008. They source parts for eyeglasses from independent manufactures across the globe, but maintains control over final assembly. In January 2012, they shipped over 80,000 prescription eyeglasses, setting a service record for online sales of made-to-order prescription glasses in any one month. In 2012, the company had sold more than $1.2 billion in retail eyewear sales over the internet since inception and served more than 5 million customers. In 2014, French lens manufacturer Essilor acquired Coastal.com and appointed Roy Hessel as CEO.[2
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/nowiki>''Vision Monday''. April 29, 2014. Hessel, a former venture capitalist, founded online eyewear retailer EyeBuyDirect in 2005. Aside with his role with Clearly, Roy Hessel is also since 2016 VP of America for the Essilor Online division. In August 2017, he appointed a new Managing Director at Clearly to help him in designing and implementing the strategy of the company.
"newswire". September 8, 2017. In 2015, Clearly Contacts re-branded itself as Clearly, while also making brand name changes in other global markets such a
Australia
an
New Zealand
In the United States, they are known a
Coastal
In September 2017, Arnaud Bussières joined Clearly as Managing Director. He became CEO in January 2018. In 2018, Essilor merged with the Luxottica, Luxottica Group to become the largest eyewear retail group in the world. In 2019, Clearly acquired Australian online retailer OzContacts.

Products

Clearly, then known as Coastal Contacts, initially exclusively sold contact lenses on their storefronts. As of 2017, the online store sells around 100 types of contacts, including daily and extended wear lenses, and coloured contact lenses.Jordan, David
Clearly Contacts CEO Roger Hardy
. ''BCBusiness''. November 3, 2010. In 2008, the company began selling eyeglasses and

. As of 2017, they sell glasses from over 100 brands. In 2012, they sold more than one million pairs of eyeglasses, making them the largest online seller of eyeglasses in the world.

References

{{Vancouver Corporations Essilor Eyewear retailers of Canada Companies based in Vancouver Online retailers of Canada Canadian companies established in 2000 Retail companies established in 2000 Internet properties established in 2000 Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Online retailers of the United States Online retailers of Australia Eyewear companies of Canada