Wayfair, the Boston home furnishings online retailer, is in talks with Texas officials about opening a customer service operation that would employ at least 300 people. Wayfair executives have discussed creating an operation with the Bryan Business Council, a local economic development agency, and the Research Valley Partnership, a regional economic group, local officials said. Bryan is a city of 76,000, located 6 miles from Texas A&M University and two hours northeast of Austin.
Wayfair could receive funding incentives totaling $50,000 from the Bryan Business Council through a plan under discussion with the Research Valley Partnership, according to Kevin Russell, Bryan's director of development services. Wayfair would have to enter into a minimum of a seven-year lease and agree to create at least 300 jobs by December 2018 with an annual payroll of $10.8 million
"I'm hopeful they do expand here," said Russell, who is a city liaison to the Bryan Business Council. "These would be full-time jobs with benefits, like insurance."
A Wayfair spokeswoman declined to comment. The talks were first reported by KBTX-TV 3, a CBS affiliate.
The deal was not been finalized, but local officials said they are eager to have a nationally-known company create jobs in the region, which is trying to attract high tech companies and foreign companies looking to break into the US market. Officials at the Research Valley Partnership were not immediately available for comment.
Megan Woolhouse can be reached at megan.woolhouse@globe.com.