Doug Perkins, chairman and founder of Specsavers

‘It’s amazing to me that fundamentally the model hasn’t changed from the early days,’ says Doug Perkins, chairman and founder of Specsavers. ‘It’s still about partners owning the profitability of the practices but still getting support and providing feedback, and that has been consistent right the way through. We are celebrating 35 years of Specsavers, which is a hell of a long time.’ Perkins can add another 15 years in independent practice to that total and he says, despite Specsavers’ size, he still thinks like an independent.

Looking back, since the early days he says the amount of support has increased, as has investment – especially in the current decade. Time and market change mean the profile of joint venture partners has changed, but he says, the long serving partners still have a big role to play in influencing what support is provided and the products offered. ‘The gap between those senior partners and the support services is very, very small indeed, as you see from the product side that is completely directed by the store partners.’

Franchise issues