New York Glasses Company Warby Parker Lured To Nashville By Subsidies, Cheaper Real Estate

New York-based company Warby Parker popularized the free home trial in the trendy glasses market. Credit: Alexis Lamster/Flickr

Warby Parker, the New York-based eyewear company, is planning to open a call center in Nashville, promising to create 250 jobs over the next five years. Although the announcement points to Nashville’s “vibrant city” status as part of the reason for the expansion, a generous state subsidy package was also a major consideration.

“We did have a very warm welcome from a number of different government officials,” said co-founder Dave Gilboa. “They put together a pretty compelling package for us to establish a presence.”

Economic and Community Development Spokesman Clint Brewer said the offer, likely in the form of a state grant for job training, has not been finalized. It was not immediately clear how much incentive money Metro officials have offered, but the company is expected to receive some local support.

Warby Parker is still scouting sites for its Nashville office, which will start with slightly more than a dozen employees. Gilboa said looking for real estate anywhere outside of New York is a bit of a relief.

“Downtown Manhattan is not the cheapest place to find office space,” he said. “One of the reasons why we’re excited about Nashville is that there’s a lower cost of doing business there. There certainly are a number of other cities where we could’ve put down roots that would’ve been significantly cheaper than Nashville. Cost was a consideration, but certainly wasn’t the primary factor.”

For those unfamiliar, Warby Parker lets shoppers browse fashionable glasses online and ships frames to customers to try-on for free. The “cut the middle man” approach allows the company to sell glasses for $95, including lenses. And it has a feel-good component, too: For every pair of glasses sold, a pair is donated to someone in need.

The New York office has around 300 employees. In a company statement,  it says the Nashville expansion is the first time the company has grown its corporate presence outside of New York. Shoppers of the trendy clothing store Imogene + Willie might be familiar with the eyewear brand. The store includes a Warby Parker showroom, one of eight around the country. Gilboa said the showroom helped cement Nashville as a city with high Warby Parker demand.

Glilboa said the Nashville office will house the “Customer Experience team,” which basically means employees there will answer phones and field customer service complaints.