TJ Hughes aims to open 10 practices this year

Discount department store TJ Hughes, which started introducing optical practices in its outlets in October 2006, said this week that it had plans to open a further 10 stores throughout the country during 2008.

The company added that it was also keen to recruit dispensing opticians and optometrists interested in becoming joint-venture partners as its expansion programme gets under way.

Specialeyes managing director Paul Jackson told Optician that turnover to date, with only a limited number of outlets open, was around £1.5m and that this figure was likely to double by the end of this year, with a projected turnover of between £3m and £3.5m.