Batemans name to leave high street

The Batemans name, bar a few exceptions, will disappear from the high street within the next 24 months as Vision Express (VE) invests in a 'substantial' upgrade of the 75 Batemans practices it acquired from bankruptcy in May.

As reported in Optician, (May 9), VE took the optical sector by surprise when it confirmed that it had acquired the business which had been a family concern for over 100 years but had suffered from a lack of investment in recent years.

Over the next six to nine months all Batemans outlets will be refitted with new fascia encompassing some element of the Batemans branding for a transitional period. Over the next 12 to 24 months all but a few Batemans practices will take on the full VE branding. The Batemans branding will be retained for those practices which would end up directly competing with an existing VE practice.