The women's online eyewear retailer, Rivet & Sway, has announced that it is shutting down.
It often looks as if selling eyewear products online is a piece of cake, given the success of certain groups such as Coastal.com. Rivet & Sway's experience presents quite a different image.
Founded in 2011, Rivet & Sway set out to be an online shopping boutique focused on high-end women's prescription brand glasses. Frames were priced between $170 and $200, including lenses. The company was named one of Internet Retailer's Hot 100 E-Retailers of 2013.
Yet, the company was quickly confronted with the limitations of its business model. The service allowing women to try on frames at home, for example, was very expensive. It cost a lot to ship frames back and forth, only to have them left unsold in the end. The company tried to diversify through bricks and mortar retailing and a Specs on Wheels tricycle to display its merchandise in beauty salons.
Unfortunately, these efforts did not convince investors to give additional capital. The company was growing and reducing costs just not enough to satisfy investor demands, explained founder John Lusk.
Sources:
http://www.geekwire.com/2014/inside-story-rivet-sway-online-retailer-closed-doors/
