Eyewear retailer Warby Parker to build lab in Rockland County

Eyewear retailer and manufacturer Warby Parker plans to launch an optical lab in Rockland County that would create 128 jobs, the company and Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on June 22.

The 34,000-square-foot lab will be in Sloatsburg, a village of about 3,000 off Interstate 87 near Harriman State Park. Warby Parker will invest more than $15 million to construct the factory, which will start out with about 15 employees, according to the press release.

“As a vertically integrated brand, opening our own lab is the next step in continuing to provide remarkable customer experiences,” said Neil Blumenthal, Warby Parker co-founder and co-CEO. “And we couldn”™t be more excited to open this lab in our own backyard and bring even more jobs to the state we call home.”

The project will receive $1.32 million in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits through the Empire State Development Corp. The state also offered the company tax incentives to maintain employment at its New York City headquarters.

“Warby Parker is a fast-growing company and their new facility will bring jobs, private investment and a new economic energy to the entire region,” Cuomo said.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer”™s office, too, was promoting the announcement. He said in a statement that he had worked with Warby Parker on the project for several months and that the move shows “just how talented the Hudson Valley workforce is.”

“Warby Parker is a strong and growing New York company and today”™s news only expands on their New York commitment,” Schumer said.

Warby Parker employs more than 250 people at its Manhattan headquarters. It sells fashionable prescription eyewear and sunglasses online and in 31 retail locations nationwide, including five in New York City. The company says the optical lab allows it to further manage the manufacturing process and gain control over order time and quality assurance.