Interview: Imran Hakim CEO Hakim Group

Great opportunities exist for independents who deliver clinical excellence and cutting-edge eyewear in equal measure. This is the view of Imran Hakim, who runs a portfolio of joint venture independent optical practices he is helping to grow through key learning from other sectors, including a focus on customer experience and use of Facebook for out-of-hours bookings.

Joe Ayling (JA) As the boss of a string of independent optical practices, how do you see the independent sector evolving in the future?

Imran Hakim (IH) The independent sector is undergoing rapid change. Many practices are seeing a fall in the number of sight tests being booked year-on-year for a variety of reasons and in many cases have compensated for this by increasing their average order values, such as by selling better products and raising prices for these products. However, many independents have not addressed the underlying problem: the number of patients they are seeing is falling year on year. As a result, there will come a tipping point where no increase in prices will compensate for the reductions in footfall. This  will lead to a rising number of practice failures.