A popular holiday destination, Brighton’s tag as ‘London by the Sea’ stems from its thriving theatre and arts scene and two universities.
Practitioners who work in Brighton know that offering niche services is important for survival in the Brighton area, with its settled population that values its leftfield identity and varied bohemian lifestyles. Brighton has the country’s only Green Party MP and a large LGBT community.
A little bit different
According to Mike Horler, optometrist partner at Specsavers Brighton, the need for a store USP to thrive in the competitive market is not an exclusive concern of the many local independent retailers.
‘In general people here like independents and don’t like corporates,’ said Horler. ‘They look for something a bit different, even unique. We’re seen as a local practice; during the week we see a lot of older customers, and at the weekends we’re busy with families; it’s not unusual for us to have 16 kids booked in for a Saturday.’
Specsavers is surrounded by independent retailers. Horler said the liberal local culture has enabled an unusual collaborative mindset between Brighton multiple branches and independent retailers.
‘We have a great relationship with the independent next door; we’ll lend each other stuff if we run out. The optical community locally is very close-knit. We have strong links with the ophthalmologists and optometrists,’ Horler said.
Marco Wren, co-director of The Specky Wren Opticians, said: ‘Brightonians have a strong sense of style and a sharp eye for the latest trends. We encounter a mix of economic classes with patients that have differing bank balances but all appreciate fashionable well-made frames. We certainly sell more designer glasses than not, but by offering a spectrum of choice no patient is excluded on price.
‘The fashion community believes in green sustainability and ethical companies, so we source the lightweight exotically coloured TR90 frames of Eco. Our recycled campaign plants a tree for each frame sold, promoting an environmentally suitable style.
'We cater to the wealthy with top end independent frame designers and bespoke lenses but we also offer refugees and homeless patients free eye tests and a selection of free glasses.’
[CaptionComponent="2433"]According to Wren local clinical services have evolved with independents increasingly offering OCT, topography and fundus photography. The Specky Wren recently invested more than £100,000 in equipment for the two testing rooms in the store.
Style to fit all budgets
Since starting the practice eight years ago, Bernadette Fitzsimons of Frames in the Lanes said her practice, ‘looks for brands not available anywhere else.’
Fitzsimons said: ‘A typical customer could be a cost conscious student or an affluent businessman without any budget. The Chrome Hearts customer – all handmade pieces using materials such as leather, ebony, sterling silver – it’s really more like eye jewellery –could have a dispense of £1,500. Then there is the £170 dispense for the patient who will retain the frame for many years and get reglaze after reglaze.’
'Brighton has become a go-to place to buy spectacles; many of our customers travel from London to make their choice.’
• Brighton Pier opened in 1823 and is over 580m long. The pier is lit by 70,000 lights and the Isle of Wight can be seen from the helter skelter.
• The Royal Pavilion (pictured) was used as a military hospital for Indian soldiers during WW1.
• The town has almost 100 parks and gardens, and over 400 restaurants, more per person than anywhere in the UK outside London.
• The town provides the setting for books by Graham Greene, Henry James and Jane Austen. It has also been featured in over 40 films, including the classic 1947 film Brighton Rock.
Who’s in town
Total: 22
Independents: 15
Multiples: 7
(Google search data)
Average costs
Prices for an eye examination in Brighton city centre, among 10 practices contacted ranged from free with a frame purchase to £68. The average cost for a basic eye exam was £28.90.
Population
Estimated total pop – 317,849
[CaptionComponent="2434"]Community eye care
East Sussex Local Optical Committee has contracts for cataract post-op, cataract referral, ophthalmology referral triage, stable glaucoma monitoring and glaucoma repeat readings with Brighton & Hove CCG (Locsu Atlas Map of Optical Variation).
Health and affluence
• 7,150 people living with some degree of sight loss in 2011, or 2.62% of the population (RNIB sight loss data tool)
• Average house price in Brighton & Hove: £294,946 (Land Registry average for all types of property)
• Number of NHS sight tests in Brighton & Hove during 2012/13: 49,354
• Cost of expenditure on vision problems per person: £36.07 (National average £42.10)
• Proportion of overall budget spent on vision: 1.9% (National avergage 2.4%).