America's Best Contacts and Eyeglasses

Name

America's Best Contacts and Eyeglasses

Legal name

America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses

Website

https://americasbest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

America's Best Contacts and Eyeglasses is a privately held U.S. value optical retailer operating 1,000+ stores, selling prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses, and eye exams anchored by a $95 two-pair bundle and an Eyecare Club membership program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Optical Retail

NAICS

Optical Goods Retailers (45613), Offices of Optometrists (62132), Optical Goods Retailers (456130)

SIC

Ophthalmic Goods (3851), Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro primary industry

Optical Dispensing & Eyewear Retail (Glasses/Frames/Lenses) (HLAKAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Luxury Eyewear (Sunglasses & Optical) (CRAKAFAG), Optical Dispensing & Eyewear Devices (Frames, Lenses, Lens Edging/Finishing Equipment) (HLAHAJAD), Luxury & Designer Eyewear (CRAAAKAD), Contact Lenses & Care Systems (Soft/RGP/Scleral Lenses; Cleaning/Disinfection Solutions) (HLAHAJAE)

Keywords

• Eyewear retail
• Prescription glasses
• Contact lenses
• Eye exams
• Optical services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lawrenceville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Eyeglass Sales: Retail sale of prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, and frames including designer brands. Revenue generated from frame sales plus lens upgrades and add-ons such as anti-reflective coating, blue-light blocking, and Transitions lenses.
2. Contact Lens Sales: Sale of contact lenses across multiple brands including Sofmed (private label), Acuvue, CooperVision, Bausch & Lomb, and Alcon products. Both daily disposables and monthly replacement lenses available.
3. Eyecare Club Membership: Subscription membership program offering free contact lens exams, 10% off contacts, 10% off eyeglasses, and 10% off accessories for $150 for 3 years. Generates recurring revenue and customer lock-in.
4. Eye Exams: Comprehensive eye exams and contact lens exams provided by licensed optometrists at store locations. Contact lens exams priced at $130, with exams included free with Eyecare Club membership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

America's Best Contacts and Eyeglasses is a vertically integrated U.S. optical retailer that sells prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses, and provides comprehensive eye exams and contact lens fittings through more than 1,000 retail stores and an e-commerce site. The core offer is anchored on a low-price 2-pair deal starting at $95 that includes an eye exam, supplemented by the Eyecare Club membership and an exclusive Sofmed private-label contact lens line.

Product overview

America's Best Contacts and Eyeglasses operates as a vertically integrated eyewear retailer offering a unified value proposition centered on the '2-pair deal' (starting at $95 for single-vision or $195 for progressives, including eye exam). The product portfolio spans three core categories — prescription eyeglasses (including sunglasses and a youth sub-brand), contact lenses (featuring both major third-party brands and the exclusive Sofmed Breathables house brand), and eye care services. Add-on offerings include premium lens upgrades (materials and enhancements), the Eyecare Club membership program (delivering repeat revenue through free exams and discounts), Virtual Try-On (an AR feature for online discovery), and product protection plans. The company recently expanded into smart eyewear with Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses. The business model leverages high-volume purchasing to negotiate low prices and passes savings to customers, with over 1000 retail locations across the U.S.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prescription Eyeglasses Prescription eyeglasses offered in single-vision and progressive lens options, available as part of the 2-pair deal starting at $95 that includes an eye exam, sold to individual consumers through stores and online.
• Sunglasses Prescription and non-prescription sunglasses available with promotional pricing such as 30% off frames online and 50% off premium lens upgrades.
• Contact Lenses Contact lenses from major brands (Acuvue, Air Optix, Biofinity, Biotrue ONEday, MyDay, Proclear, Sofmed, etc.) in daily disposable, bi-weekly, and monthly replacement options, sold to individual consumers.
• Eye Exams Comprehensive eye exams conducted by licensed optometrists at America's Best retail locations, provided as part of the 2-pair eyeglass deal or for a standalone fee.
• Contact Lens Exam Specialized contact lens fitting and evaluation exam priced at $130, performed by licensed optometrists at store locations.
• Eyecare Club Membership Three-year subscription membership priced at $150 that provides free contact lens exams, 10% off contact lenses, 10% off eyeglasses (including designer frames), and 10% off in-store accessories.
• America's Best Vision Plan (California) California-only vision plan providing 2 eyeglass pairs for $95 including eye exam, plus a separate 3-year contact lens exam benefit plan for $129.
• Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses Smart glasses sold as an authorized Ray-Ban Meta retailer, integrating Meta AI voice assistant, camera, open-ear audio, and live translation, with prescription-compatible frames for individual consumers.
• Sofmed Breathables Contact Lenses Exclusive private-label contact lens brand created with CooperVision, offered in Ultimate 1 Day, 1 Day, Advanced, and XW variants across sphere, toric, and multifocal prescriptions.
• Youth Eyeglasses Eyeglasses designed for children and teenagers, available in brands including Heartland, Inflex, Jonas Paul, Mini-Bronx, Mini-Spada, Oakley, Ray-Ban Jr., Skechers, and the Youth Collection.
• Premium Lens Upgrades Lens material upgrades (anti-scratch plastic, polycarbonate, ultra-thin hi-index) and enhancements (blue-light blocking, anti-reflective coating, Transitions, polarized) sold as add-ons to eyeglass purchases.
• Product Protection Plan One-year protection plan covering scratched, damaged, or broken glasses, included free with premium lens material upgrades.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% off premium lens upgrades on current promotions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability7 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CooperVisioncoreTechnology or IntegrationSofmed Breathables contact lenses are created in partnership with CooperVision, the same trusted manufacturer behind leading brands like Biofinity, MyDay, and clariti. CooperVision provides the technology and manufacturing for America's Best's private-label Sofmed contact lens brand.
• AffirmminorOthersAffirm provides 0% APR financing on qualifying purchases at America's Best. Customers can pay over time with no interest and no fees through Affirm's buy-now-pay-later service.
• Meta/Ray-BancoreTechnology or IntegrationAmerica's Best is an authorized retailer of Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses, featuring Meta AI technology with voice commands, live speech translation, open-ear audio, and hands-free camera functionality. Gen 2 models (Blayzer and Scriber) feature slimmer design and improved prescription lens compatibility.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Warby Parker: Warby Parker is a direct-to-consumer eyewear brand offering prescription glasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses through its own e-commerce site and ~200+ retail stores. It is the most closely comparable US-based vertically integrated optical retailer combining value positioning with brand-native design.
• Visionworks: Visionworks operates ~700 US retail locations offering eye exams, prescription eyewear, and contact lenses. It is a comparable multi-state optical retail chain serving similar value-oriented consumer segments.
• LensCrafters: LensCrafters is one of the largest US optical retail chains with ~1,000 locations, owned by EssilorLuxottica. It is a direct competitor in prescription eyewear, eye exams, and contact lenses, with comparable store footprint and category breadth.
• EyeBuyDirect: EyeBuyDirect is a US-based online eyewear retailer owned by EssilorLuxottica, competing directly on low-priced prescription glasses and sunglasses. Comparable in value positioning and online-first fulfillment model.
• Walmart Vision Center: Walmart Vision Center is an in-store optical department in Walmart Supercenters offering eye exams and affordable prescription eyewear. It is a direct competitor on extreme value optical retail with even larger footprint potential.
• Zenni Optical: Zenni Optical is the largest pure-play online eyewear retailer in the US, competing on extreme low-price positioning with prescription glasses starting under $10. It is a direct competitor in the value eyeglass category and pressure-tests America's Best's 'low-price leader' claim.
• Target Optical: Target Optical provides in-store optical services within Target retail locations, offering eye exams and prescription eyewear. Comparable in-store-within-host-retailer optical model targeting similar mass-market consumers.
• For Eyes: For Eyes is a US optical retail chain offering eye exams, prescription glasses, and contact lenses through ~100+ company-owned stores. It competes in the same mid-tier optical retail segment with similar exam-plus-eyewear bundles.
• Pearle Vision: Pearle Vision is a US optical retail franchise network offering eye exams, prescription glasses, and contact lenses. Owned by EssilorLuxottica, it competes directly with America's Best in the value-to-mid-tier optical retail segment.
• Costco Optical: Costco Optical operates within Costco Wholesale locations, offering eye exams and discounted prescription eyewear to members. It is a direct competitor on price-anchored optical retail with massive foot traffic and overlapping target demographic.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/americas_best

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about America's Best Contacts and Eyeglasses