Vision Path, Inc., which operates Hubble Contacts, today announced it reached an agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to settle a dispute related to Hubble’s compliance with the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act and the Contact Lens Rule.
“We are relieved to put this behind us and continue our journey to become one of the leading vision companies in the world,” said Steven Druckman, CEO of Vision Path. “The FTC’s allegations relate to a period when the company was just starting up, and all requirements in the order were addressed long ago through improvements to our systems and internal processes.”
Founded in 2016, Vision Path has evolved from a disruptive newcomer into a category leader for affordable contact lenses and other vision products. Through its online platforms, Vision Path sells contact lenses and glasses under the Hubble brand as well as other contact lens brands through its companion website, ContactsCart. Both sites offer prices for contact lenses that are among the lowest in the industry.
“Hubble entered a concentrated market by offering consumers something innovative and new: affordable prices and convenient subscriptions for daily disposable contact lenses,” said Mr. Druckman. “We acknowledge that Hubble, like many other disruptive startups, experienced some operational challenges early on, but through continuous improvement those have been corrected as Hubble matured and evolved.” Mr. Druckman added that “Hubble is a very different company today than it was when we launched the business.”
Now that Hubble and ContactsCart are established as leading online retailers of quality lenses at affordable prices, Vision Path is moving rapidly to expand its offerings across the vision category. Hubble recently introduced prescription glasses, sunglasses, and blue light-filtering glasses under its Frames by Hubble brand. The company is exploring the possibility of offering other ancillary eye care products and is expanding relationships with multiple leading eye care brands that are seeking to take advantage of Vision Path’s innovative and highly efficient online platform and customer interface.
As a component of the settlement, Hubble has agreed to provide financial compensation to certain consumers and also pay a fine. Vision Path is confident that it has resolved the FTC’s concerns and has long operated in compliance with the Contact Lens Rule and other FTC requirements.
“We disagree with many of the FTC’s claims, including the FTC’s characterization of the Hubble team’s intentions, but we believe that this settlement is the best way for Hubble to move forward so we can focus on executing our strategy to grow and evolve the company and expand on our value proposition,” Mr. Druckman said.
