Jat Hothi, practice owner of Spec Savvy Optician in Chatham, joined optics only three years ago. Since then, he has embarked on an innovative and unusual business model that has seen the practice go from a standing start to servicing more than 2,000 patients in one year.
Established in October last year, Spec Savvy Opticians is located in Dockside Outlet Shopping Centre and is therefore required by its lease to offer a ‘factory outlet offering’ to customers. In order to do this Spec Savvy buys in bulk to pass the savings on to its patients.
‘In our first year we have already become a key account with Luxottica,’ says Hothi. ‘We use Rodenstock’s last generation lenses, which are still very good, for all our frames which also helps us offer a discount.’ Hothi’s market research uncovered only one other practice in the country to be based in an outlet shopping centre, meaning he could occupy a relatively niche position in the market.
Because of the attraction that an outlet centre brings, Hothi says people travel from far and wide to shop, which means he sees ‘people from all over the county and not just the local area’.
His philosophy and business model rests on three pillars: accountability, competency, and reward and recognition. Employees are encouraged to have ‘full ownership of the customer journey’, says Hothi, although he recognises the buck stops at him.
Olu Fayefunmi, Specsavers ophthalmic director of Chatham, Strood and Gillingham, says Medway is an area steeped in history, ‘with the town of Rochester, the stories of Charles Dickens set here and the Historic Dockyards in Chatham’.
Fayefunmi’s stores offer ‘a wide range of services’, including enhanced optical services, and they ‘work very closely with the community as well as larger charities’.
‘More recently, between our three Medway stores, 17 members of our staff raised over £2,000 for Breast Cancer Care by doing a fun mudder 5km run,’ says Fayefunmi.
When it comes to fashion, Fayefunmi says: ‘The Kylie and Balmain are popular due to their large rounded frame designs, great colours and metallics which have become increasing popular over the last couple of years.
‘Fashion tastes have edged towards the hipster “geek chic” look, which is proving very popular among our teens and under 40s.’
Who’s in town
Total: 9
Independents: 6
Multiples: 3
Average costs
The average price of an eye exam in the Medway Area ranges from £25 to £45, at an average cost of £29.
Population - see pie chart
Population: 277,616
Community eye care
According to the LOCSU Atlas Map of Optical Variation, Kent and Medway Local Optical Committee has a contract with Medway CCG in Ophthalmology Referral Triage, Minor Eye Conditions Services, Glaucoma Repeat Readings, Glaucoma Referral Refinement, Stable Glaucoma Monitoring and Cataract Post-op.
Health and affluence
- The average Medway area house price is £230,000 (Zoopla), compared with a UK average of £223,257 (Land Registry, 2017).
- The Medway area has an average salary of £20,762, compared with a UK average of £27,271 (Payscale, 2018)
- By 2030, the number of people living with severe sight loss in Medway is expected to be 1,430 – a 50% rise on today (RNIB).
- Between now and 2030, it is estimated there will be a 56% rise in Medway people with cataracts (RNIB).
Fact file
World-famous writer Charles Dickens, pictured, moved to Medway when he was five. The inspiration behind the names of many of his characters were found in local graveyards.
In 1667, a Dutch fleet conducted a surprise attack on England by sailing up the River Medway and destroying a number of battleships. The Raid on the Medway, as it became known, ended the second Anglo-Dutch war with peace terms favourable to the Dutch.
Rochester Cathedral, pictured top, is the seat of the Bishop of Rochester, the second oldest bishopric in England after the Archbishop of Canterbury.
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