NEW YORK—As it moves ahead toward its goal of establishing 25 new brick-and-mortar locations in 2017, Warby Parker is opening two new stores in the July 8 to 22 timeframe, including its first store in Colorado. It the retailer, which launched as an online-only business, hits its target of 25 openings this year, it will close 2017 with more than 70 showroom locations.

The first Colorado store opened in the east end of Boulder during the weekend of July 8 to 9. Another new Warby Parker location is expected to debut Saturday (July 22) in Plano, Texas, a spokeswoman confirmed to VMail. In addition, a new Warby Parker location is expected to open in nearby Fort Worth before the end of the year.

The two openings mark the 53rd and 54th locations that Warby Parker has opened since its debut in 2010. Warby Parker finished 2016 with 46 retail/showroom locations and ranked No. 11 on the Vision Monday Top 50 U.S. Optical Retailers list.


Warby Parker location in the Pizitz Building in Birmingham, Ala.
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“Our first store in the state [of Colorado], in the heart of downtown Boulder on historic Pearl Street, is the home base we’ve been eager to build for years—and it has the best mountain view of any Warby Parker store in existence,” co-founder and co-chief executive officer Dave Gilboa said in a statement announcing the Boulder opening.

Texas is becoming one of the company’s key markets in terms of brick-and-mortar showrooms, also. Warby Parker previously opened two stores in Austin and two stores in the Dallas market, and is preparing to open its first location in Houston before the end of the year. Warby Parker expects to

Warby Parker showroom in Boston's Prudential Center.
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open single locations in Los Angeles and Milwaukee, Wis., later this year, according to its website.

In May, Warby Parker stepped into the middle of the controversial area of online vision testing with its launch of a mobile refraction service, as VMail reported.
 
The new testing service lets current customers measure their visual acuity using an app called the Warby Parker Prescription Check. It is designed to help “eligible folks with expired eyeglasses prescriptions get a new one—without setting foot in a doctor’s office,” according to a Warby Parker flier.