Meet the start-up that changed how Switzerland sees
Online shopping is big business in Switzerland: the landlocked economy ranks third for online shopping in Europe.
Yet, prescription glasses were never really on Switzerland’s ‘e-radar’ — until VIU , an innovative Swiss start-up, came along.
Bursting onto the online market in 2014, the new company undercut their competition by hundreds of Francs.
Swiss glasses-wearers traditionally frequent opticians stores and paid an average of CHF600 (roughly USD600; GBP495 in the current market) for a new pair of glasses. But, unlike these established companies, VIU was built a ‘direct to customer’ model, eliminating intermediaries by taking control of the whole supply chain from design to delivery which allowed them to offer rock-bottom prices of CHF195 for a prescription.
However, “best quality to such low prices doesn’t usually add up in Switzerland,” Kilian Wagner, one of VIU’s five co-founders, explained when speaking to HubFlux.
Yet, within the first two years, the company had sold over 20,000 frames in Switzerland — with volumes now “significantly higher, of course,” Kilian noted. VIU has now also expanded operations to Germany and Austria.
So, how did the company manage to become so successful in such a short space of time?
“Finding the initial traction, building a community, but most of all gaining the trust of the Swiss citizens that our innovative and new concept is a good thing that can be trusted,” Kilian told us. “Swiss customers are very skeptical at first; if they enjoy the product, they are very loyal in the long term.”
“Therefore, the VIU flagship stores with experienced opticians are essential for our success. What we have noticed is that people get to know the VIU brand and glasses online, then often try them on and purchase offline. This is what we call the omnichannel model, where the online and offline market complement each other and it should be a seamless customer journey between different channels.”
The ‘omnichannel’ model became a key feature in a country where “everything unknown is generally untrusted.” It includes a ‘Try at Home’ feature, where customers can order up to four pairs of glasses online to try on at home, and if they don’t like them, they can send them back within four days, all free of charge. “It’s a great way to experience VIU in an area where a flagship store is out of reach,” Kilian told us.
Kilian also had some advice for anyone launching a start-up in Switzerland:
“Define your core principles that define you as a company or brand — these must be stable! However, once you launch you will learn so much from your customer’s feedback and the market that I would encourage you to continuously question the status quo. Test and try new channels, methods, explore, be curious and don’t be afraid to deviate from your original course.”
Tomorrow, HubFlux will host Ladies First, an event where female entrepreneurs and leaders can connect, inspire and share best practices. Join leading Swiss female entrepreneurs at Tesla’s offices in Geneva, for what will surely be a networking event to remember!
