Specsavers
When Doug and Dame Mary Perkins, pictured below, opened the first Specsavers store back in Bristol in 1984, no one quite predicted just how much of an impact the business would have on the profession. Today, Specsavers is the world’s largest privately owned optical group with more than 1,800 stores operating in 10 countries. Each store is part-owned and managed by its own directors, who are then provided with support services including marketing, accounting, IT and wholesaling.
This year Specsavers furthered its enhanced optical services, opening up its first specialist eye treatment centre in Newport in January, which provides initial screening and referrals for people with symptoms of wet age-related macular degeneration. It has also announced this week the addition of OCTs to each of its UK stores.
Boots Opticians
With more than 600 branches across the UK, Boots Opticians is one of the top three multiples in the optical industry. De Rigo owns a 42% minority interest which it obtained in 2009 after Boots Opticians merged with Dollond & Aitchison to create the second largest optical chain in the UK. In 2013, Boots Opticians became the first multiple optician in the UK to include digital retinal photography as a standard element of its eye test for customers of all ages.
This has been a somewhat turbulent year for Boots Opticians, having been summoned to appear before a GOC fitness to practise committee following misconduct allegations relating to advertising of its blue light filtering lenses. There was also movement at Boots Opticians’ HQ, after previous Boots Hearingcare managing director Jonathan Gardner took over from Ben Fletcher in March 2017 to become Boots Opticians managing director.
Vision Express
Vision Express is the third largest optical retailer in the UK and is part of European optical retail group GrandVision.
It first opened its doors in Newcastle in 1988 and has grown its network both organically and through the acquisition of Batemans, Rayner and Conlons group pracitces. At year end 2016, Vision Express operated 390 stores in the UK and Ireland with 4,515 employees.
Tesco Opticians
Tesco Opticians has been established since 1999 and now has more than 206 in-store practices in the UK. The company offers free sight tests for everyone, regardless of whether patients qualify for an NHS-funded sight test. Tesco Opticians employs more than 1,500 people and had revenues of approximately £90m in 2016.
Last month Vision Express shocked the industry after announcing it will acquire Tesco Opticians, pending a transaction which is subject to regulatory approval by the UK Competition and Markets Authority. As a result, a further 209 stores across the UK and Republic of Ireland will be brought under its leadership by the end of the year, bringing the total number of Vision Express outlets to 599, placing the new entity just behind Boots for store count.
Optical Express
Optical Express was founded in 1991 and has developed a portfolio including laser, lens and cataract surgery as well as maintaining the core optics division of glasses and contact lenses.
The Optical Express Group currently operates in the UK, Ireland, Croatia and Germany and has 127 stores in the UK.
Asda Opticians
Asda Opticians was first introduced to stores in 2000 and is now in over 130 Asda supermarket stores across the UK and Northern Ireland.
Asda was one of the early entrants into the online contact lens business and prides itself on its transparent pricing offers. It is part of American retail company Walmart.
Scrivens
Established in 1938, Scrivens Opticians & Hearing Care is a family-owned and family-run business. It was founded by Soloman Scriven in 1938 in the heart of the Midlands and is now headed up by grandsons Nicholas and Mark Georgevic.
Its growth in audiology, thanks in part to providing adult hearing care on behalf of the NHS, prompted a corporate name change to Scrivens Opticians & Hearing Care in 2013. As the business expanded, Scrivens has acquired individual practice chains including Melson Wingate, Ronald Brown Opticians and the Owl Group. The company has 176 High Street branches in England and north Wales and employs 1,000 people.
Duncan and Todd
Duncan and Todd was established in 1973 and is now Scotland’s largest independently owned optometrists. The company has 29 retail branches from Fife to the Highlands including 20 20 Opticians, JM MacDonald and Douglas Dickie Opticians as part of the company.
State-of-the-art laboratory Caledonian Optical is also operated by the group, which provides lenses to all Duncan and Todd optical branches as well as more than 200 clients across the UK. In 2017, Duncan and Todd’s Jacqui Hay celebrated success at the Optician Awards, having walked away with the prestigious title of contact lens practitioner of the year.
Hakim Group
The Hakim Group celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2017 by making the Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work For. Led by CEO and optometrist Imran Hakim, practices are acquired by the group when an owner is looking to retire or as part of a gradual phased exit which can be financially more compelling for an owner who is looking to retire within the next five years.
There is an individual approach to each practice rather than a ‘one size fits all’ with practices remaining independent but with a support team in the background to help with finance, purchasing, marketing, HR and training. Each practice has an optometrist or dispensing optician who co-owns the practice and the level of ownership varies from 5% to 50% over one or several practices.
David Clulow
Established in 1962, David Clulow has built a strong reputation for providing high standards of eye care on the high street.
It is now part of the Luxottica retail arm and has 35 outlets trading under its name. David Clulow stores are based largely in London and the south-east of England in prestigious locations including Kensington High Street, Hampstead, Covent Garden and Harrods.
Leightons
This year saw Leightons continue its store modernisation programme in pursuit of a differentiated and highly personalised customer experience with integration of optical and audiology services at its heart. Leightons’ Learning Academy has won three rounds of government funding to support training and development. It focuses on enriching the customer experience via teamwork and sales as well as tailored CET events.
Leightons is expanding via acquisition, joint ventures and franchising which is aimed to help independent business owners with succession planning and ongoing business growth and development. Currently it has 34 stores, eight of which are franchise and three are joint venture.
Black and Lizars
One of Scotland’s largest independent opticians, Black & Lizars was established in 1830 when John Lizars opened the first practice in Glasgow’s Mercant City at the age of 20. In 1982, C Jeffrey Black and OD Black merged, and 17 years later a further merger took place creating what is now Black & Lizars.
The company has invested heavily in the latest 3D optical coherence tomography eye scanners and has the largest network of Daytona Optomaps in the UK.
How we arrived at the figures
Where figures were not supplied by the companies involved estimates and subsequent ratios have been made based on inflation, industry contacts, reports or the latest published figures used where comparable. This report is designed to provide a snapshot of the £3bn retail optical market and should not form the basis of any financial decisions.
Optician thanks those companies that made their figures available. Where estimates have been made they have been made in good faith and do not supersede any official figures.
