Benito Repollet, owner, (bottom left); Rick Powers, owner, (top center); Donna Powers, vice president of sales and marketing (bottom right); and staff
Mirror, mirror on the wall, that mirror isn’t a mirror at all!
LiteMirror, located in Irvington, produces the seemingly impossible “glassless” mirror, made instead from shatterproof, unbreakable, and highly reflective optical film.
Rick Powers and Benito Repollet started LiteMirror in 2008; they both worked for Hudson Photographic, which patented the glassless mirror in the 1970s. After the death of the company’s owner and its subsequent closing, Rick and Benito started up again in the same factory.
“Our business made it through the [2008] recession,” says Donna Powers, wife of Rick and the firm’s vice president of sales and marketing, “and has grown exponentially in the last few years, at a rate of 10 to 15 percent annually.” The company has expanded most notably in the past four years, she adds, referencing the seven full-time employees and two part-timers who now work for the company.
Since there’s heavy competition in the market, LiteMirror set its sights on targeting niche markets. “[Rick and Benito] saw an opportunity for dance studios, home gyms, and theatrical applications,” says Powers. “We create our Instagram, Facebook, Google ads and posts to cater to a particular vertical.” That’s led to purchases from famous clients, from Lady Gaga to Beyoncé, and notable institutions, including the American Music Awards, the New York City Ballet, The Guggenheim Museum, Broadway productions, and the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
