Annual review Specsavers Annual Report LR Proof | Page 24

Investing in our stores
As the number of people visiting us continues to rise, it
is critical that we ensure our stores are equipped to offer
the best possible environment for our customers.
In 2017/18, this involved opening 60 new optical stores
and 73 audiology businesses, as well as supporting
hundreds of relocation, expansion or reconfiguration
projects across our existing portfolio. This investment
included the addition of 300 new test rooms across the
UK and Republic of Ireland, and an upgrade to 96% of
audiology stores in the Netherlands.
Australian cricket team members take part in a special testing session at our Rundle Mall store.
A complete renovation brought the latest in
optical technology to customers in Sutton-
Reaching more customers in-Ashfield, our largest store in the UK.
We continue to seek creative and impactful ways to revolutionary pre-testing area, as well as
promote our brand and retail offer. Working hand-in-hand the enhanced optical services and diabetic
with our partners to keep Specsavers front of mind helps screening operations. A newly-created lower
attract more and more customers every day. floor houses a glazing lab, call centre, and
The additional space expanded the store’s
regional training room.
Sponsorship, with a particular emphasis on sport, plays
a key role in our marketing strategy. We were official ‘The facility is beneficial to both the team
sponsors of the DHL New Zealand Lions Series 2017 and the local community. We are delighted
match officials, and supported the New Zealand Super Specsavers co-founders Dame Mary and Doug Perkins with to become the largest Specsavers store
Rugby referees for the second year. As the official eyecare RNIB Vice President Lady Penny Lancaster-Stewart. in the UK. We believe our investment
and eyewear provider to Cricket Australia for the 2017 represents our commitment to continue
season, we sponsored the ball tracker technology and delivering great service to all our existing,
provided eye tests to team members at our Rundle Mall
store in South Australia.
Last year, eye health ambassadors such as Australian
swimmer Ian Thorpe and British TV presenter Anne
and new, customers.’
joined forces with the RNIB to take a sight-loss simulator,
Nigel Davidson, Sutton-in-Ashfield partner
Eye Pod, on a national tour. By demonstrating sight-
threatening eye conditions in a real-life context, the Eye
Pod proved to be an innovative, engaging way of helping
Robinson proved influential in raising public awareness educate members of the public about the importance of of eye health. Olympian Ian Thorpe fronted a campaign eye health. Enhancing our supply chain resulted in significant efficiency improvements, enabling
‘Our partnerships with the RNIB and the International As our business continues to grow, it is vital that we evolve ever-growing customer demands.
Glaucoma Association are about transforming eye and invest in our supply chain, to support our partners in We continued our partnership with the Royal National health – educating the public on the importance of eye exceeding customer expectations. Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and took part in a unique examinations and what optometrists are capable of television campaign that enabled viewers to watch a in helping to diagnose and manage sight-threatening We completed the relocation of one of our Chinese sites to increased surfacing capability to 90,000 lenses per week
commercial break through the eyes of people with sight- conditions. Equally important, therefore, is to ensure a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Shenzhen. for our Northern European stores. To support ongoing
loss conditions. In conjunction with National Eye Health that as many optometrists as possible are fully confident Pioneer Optical is fully automated and multi-functional, volume growth in the UK, the recent relocation of Lens-
Week, different visual filters were applied to the adverts and competent to deliver the range of enhanced services meaning it can produce 85,000 surfaced lenses and Online and International Glazing Services operations
to illustrate five of the most common eye conditions that patients, wherever they live, will gradually come to 50,000 pairs of completed glasses a week. The significant has meant we were able to produce record numbers of
in the UK: macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetes- expect from their high-street optician.’ investment in Pioneer, as well as latest equipment lenses, and we extended the coating facility at Airways
related conditions, hemianopia and glaucoma. We also Doug Perkins, Specsavers co-founder installations at our Melbourne Glazing Services lab, Optical Limited in Southampton.
to promote the importance of regular eye tests to the 10
million Australians who don’t currently have one.
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our partners across Australia and New Zealand to meet
We also expanded our lab in Szatmár, Hungary. The
enhanced Modulo Line self-organising system has
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