Dispensing Optician

From humble beginnings on a table-tennis table in a spare bedroom in Guernsey to the £1.5 billion global business that it is today, Specsavers Optical Group has achieved an impressive amount in its 27 years. Husband and wife Doug and Mary Perkins, both optometrists, had moved to Guernsey where Mary’s parents lived, after selling a small chain of opticians in the West Country of England. From there, they opened the first Specsavers Opticians on Bond Street in Bristol on 14 February 1984. Today Specsavers is the clear market leader in the UK,and is either market leader or close to that position in eight other countries: the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Australia and New Zealand. Specsavers also has a foot hold in Spain, with five stores. It is the third largest optical group in the world, with almost 1500 stores, and the largest in private ownership. There are 700 stores in the UK and Ireland, over 100 in the Netherlands, 350 stores in the Nordics and over 300 in Australia and New Zealand. It is also the largest provider of home-delivery contact lenses in Europe, with over one million customers. Since 2002 it has been voted Most Trusted Optical Brand every year by Readers’ Digest. Specialties Opticians