T J Hughes rolls out joint venture scheme

Massive expansion is under way at discount department store T J Hughes with plans for 50 new Specialeyes optical practices to open within its UK retail outlets over the next 24 months, Optician can exclusively reveal.

The company is also keen to recruit optometrists and dispensing opticians as joint venture partners with starting prices of £30,000, dependent on store size and location.

In April Optician reported that Specialeyes was launched at two Warrington and Sheffield-based stores in October 2006 and that it had just opened another practice in the Scunthorpe outlet (April 20). Since then the expansion has continued to Doncaster and Liverpool with plans for further openings this year in Manchester, Newcastle, Hull, St Helens and Bootle.