Coastal Contacts

Coastal Contacts, inc.

Type	Public (TSX: COA)
Industry	Retail Online shopping
Founded	1999
Headquarters	Vancouver, British Columbia
Key people	Roger Hardy, Founder and CEO
Products	Vision care, eyeglasses, contact lenses
Employees	350
Website	www.coastalcontacts.com

Coastal Contacts Inc. is a provider of contact lenses and eyeglasses online. With more than 2 million vision-corrected customers, the company has built a steady and stable repeat annuity of contact lens and vision-related products. As a direct-to-consumer marketer, the company provides name brand contact lenses and other eye care products such as eyeglasses and contact lens solutions to consumers around the world using the Internet as its principal marketing channel.

Founded in Vancouver, Canada, Coastal Contacts also has offices in Sweden, the Netherlands and Singapore. The company has grown to over 350 employees located around the globe and serves a base of close to 2 million active customers in 150 different countries. Started as a private company funded by friends and family, in 2004 the company went public on the TSX Venture Exchange. In 2006 Coastal Contacts graduated to the TSX, Canada’s senior stock exchange (TSX: COA) The company most recently listed on the Nasdaq OMX to allow European investors an easy and efficient means of trading the company's equity. In 2009 the company completed revenues of more than $1400 million and exceeded $8 million in ebitda,^{[clarification needed]} representing more than 350% CAGR for the previous five years.

Despite being named Coastal Contacts and being founded in Canada, the company does business as Clearly Contacts within Canada.

History

Coastal Contacts was founded by Roger Hardy and his sister Michaela Tokarski in 2000. The company began as a classic start-up operation with one computer but quickly expanded as the brand gained international recognition.

By March 2001, Coastal Contacts reached more than $1 million in annual revenue. The growth trajectory has continued with the company surpassing the $100 million mark in revenues for 2007. The growth has been driven both organically^{[clarification needed]} and through acquisition as Coastal has completed four transactions of similar direct to consumer competitors in Sweden, the Netherlands and Singapore.

In February 2002, co-founder Roger Hardy won the BIV Top 40 under 40 Award and in 2006 was named Ernst and Young, Entrepreneur of the Year (Pacific Region) in the Business to Consumer category.

Products

Coastal Contacts provides customers with contact lenses and eye care products direct from manufacturers such as Johnson and Johnson, CibaVision and Bausch and Lomb. It carries virtually all major product lines including Acuvue, Focus Dailies, Freshlook, Proclear and PureVision. The company provides customers from around the world a large inventory of products including daily and extended wear lenses, coloured contact lenses and special effects contact lenses.

Recently^[when?] Coastal Contacts introduced related vision care products, such as designer eyeglasses and sunglasses. For example, the company sells eyeglasses and sunglasses by Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Nike Vision, Gucci, Coach, Hugo Boss and many other premier designers and brands. In addition to eyewear, Coastal Contacts also offers contact lens solutions such as its own “Healthy Eyes” MultiPurpose Contact Lens Solution and leading brands such as Renu Multiplus and Aosept.

Headquarters

Coastal Contacts Inc. Suite 320-2985 Virtual Way Vancouver, BC Canada V5M 4X7

Coastal Contacts' headquarters is located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Roger Hardy is the co-founder, chairman, CEO and President of the company.

External links

• Coastal Contacts Website
• Profit 100 : Canada’s fastest growing companies
• BC Business Online report on Roger Hardy
• The Globe and Mail : Profile on Michaela Tokarski
• The Globe and Mail : Report on Coastal Contacts
• Internet Retailer Top 500 | Number 128
• Business in Vancouver: Coastal Contacts provides service to Blue Cross Members