Roger Hardy Biography

Roger Vincent Hardy (born November 11, 1969) is a Canadian Internet entrepreneur and businessman. He is the co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of SHOES.COM. Hardy is also the co-founder and former Chairman, and CEO of Coastal Contacts Inc. (TSX: COA, NASDAQ: COA), the leading manufacturer and online retailer of eyewear products. The Coastal Contacts Inc.’s family of websites includes Coastal.com, ClearlyContacts.ca, Clearly.com.au, Clearly.co.nz, Lensway.co.uk and ContactSan.com.

Hardy was born in Toronto, Ontario and grew up in Eastern Canada where he attended Earl of March Secondary School. After graduating from Bishops University, Hardy’s passion for skiing pulled him to the West Coast. He spent a year skiing in Whistler and came to the decision that BC was his home.

While attending university, Hardy was a member of many sports teams where his competitive nature garnered him the Most Valuable Player of the year award. Later in his career, it was this competitive spirit that helped Hardy succeed in an online industry in which thousands had entered, and failed.

Hardy currently resides in Vancouver, BC with his wife and children.

Hardy first worked for a transportation and logistics company, followed by a contact lens company. While working at the contact lens company, Hardy recognized that purchasing contact lenses was expensive, time consuming and service constrained for consumers.

In 2000, Hardy founded Coastal Contacts Inc. The Company started in a basement office with one phone line, a 14K modem, a ping pong table and a Visa card. Hardy purchased the keyword “contact lens” from AltaVista and Snap.com. This keyword was not known to have any value at the time and no other companies were advertising on the keyword. Hardy bought the exclusive rights to “contact lenses” and launched with that advertising. In the first day, they had 30 orders; within the first month, they had $68,000 in sales.

Under Hardy’s direction, Coastal Contacts Inc. became the world’s largest online retailer for eyewear. In 2001, Coastal achieved $1 million in cumulative revenue. In 2004, the Company began trading on TSX. In 2008, the Company launched eyeglasses business unit. In 2012, Coastal surpasses $1 billion in cumulative sales since 2000 and starts trading on NASDAQ.

Coastal Contacts Inc. and Essilor signed an agreement on February 27, 2014 that it is acquiring Coastal Contacts Inc. for C$430 million.

Roger Hardy is the co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of SHOES.COM, formerly known as SHOEme.ca. Under Hardy’s leadership, the parent company acquired both OnlineShoes.com and SHOES.COM. On May 20, SHOES.COM announced it had raised net proceeds of approximately $45 million. As of May 2015, SHOES.COM is valued at $320 million.

Hardy currently serves on the board of directors for BuildDirect.com, the world’s leading online manufacturer/wholesalers of flooring and building materials.

Hardy co-founded and is majority owner of SoftwareKing.com, the web’s largest retailer of packaged software.

As a renowned expert and highly sought-after speaker, Roger Hardy's expertise is in high demand. To book Roger Hardy for your next event, conference, or workshop, please contact our speaker booking agency. Our experienced team will work closely with you to understand your specific needs and help secure Roger Hardy's participation. With our professional guidance and seamless booking process, you can ensure a memorable and impactful experience for your audience. Don't miss the opportunity to engage your audience with Roger Hardy's compelling insights and inspire positive change within your organization. Fill out the booking request form to take the first step in securing Roger Hardy for your next speaking engagement.