Roger Hardy

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.

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.

Roger Hardy was 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 was valued at $320 million and was awarded the " Fastest growing company in Canada " title by Profit magazine. The company went bankrupt in January 2017 and was sold to Walmart in a $30 million dollar transaction.

Hardy established the Hardy Endowment Fund at Bishops University which will pay the tuition for a student "in need" each year in perpetuity. This fund has grown substantially and now funds many students academic pursuits. Hardy is responsible for donating to and contributing countless hours along with his team at Coastal Contacts Inc. over the past years to charities close to their hearts. Easter Seals, The Ride to Conquer Cancer, The Greater Vancouver Food Bank, ORBIS Canada and The Red Cross are some of the many charities that he is involved with. Hardy has also contributed more than 1 million pairs of free glasses to people in developing countries such as Mexico, El Salvador and Kenya, as well as disadvantaged people in Canada through Coastal Contacts Inc.’s own charity project, Change the View, which was founded by Hardys wife Jenny.

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

In 2014 Hardy funded and acquired in a well-publicized acquisition a development property at 510 Seymour Street in Vancouver B.C. This unique distressed property located on the edge of the downtown core represented an opportunity to build an iconic statement building and plant a flag in Vancouver's downtown core; one of the world's fastest rising markets. The building was completed in January of 2017 having experienced tremendous appreciation in land and improvements. 510 Seymour Street located at the corner of West Pender and Seymour St is a modern 82,000 sq. ft masterpiece. Hardy Capital now occupies the penthouse of this iconic Vancouver property.[5]

In 2002, Hardy was recognized as Top 40 under 40 Award by Business in Vancouver. In 2006, Hardy was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Business to Consumer). In 2016, Hardy was again awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Business to Consumer). In 2009, Hardy received Bishop’s University Top 10 After 10 Award in 2009.

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.

Roger Vincent Hardy (born November 11, 1969) is a Canadian Internet entrepreneur and businessman. He is the Chairman, and CEO of Hardy Capital. 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.