Annual review Specsavers Annual Report LR Proof | Page 44

REVIEW
FROM THE
REGIONS
2017/18 has been a Northern Europe
fantastic year of It has been a hugely rewarding year in Northern Europe.
great growth and Despite market conditions remaining challenging, the
success, testament hard work of our committed and highly-skilled teams
to our passionate has paid dividends.
and motivated
teams on both sides We continued to see fantastic figures, resulting in market-
of the world. share growth across the whole region. We opened 16 new
stores, carried out more than 50 store-capacity expansions,
Australia and New Zealand launched more than 400 new frame styles, and recruited
This year, Specsavers reached an exciting milestone 110 new optometrists and 55 optical partners. We now
in our Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) history - service the community with 450 optical stores in the
celebrating 10 years since we opened the doors of region, and more than 100 audiology businesses.
our first stores in Melbourne’s CBD.
Reading our Annual them. Cerys can now go outside without anxiety attacks
Review is always a – it’s changed her life.
humbling experience
Particular highlights for me include the start of our journey
While we had bold ambitions to change the face of to transform eye health across the region by forming
optometry in ANZ, I don’t think any of us could have strategic alliances with leading health organisations and
for me. Each year, There are many, many similar examples. Reading truly believed how much of a difference we would publishing State of the Nation Eye Health reports, and
this report offers but letters from our customers, who talk of the care and make to the optical market. We now have 376 stores, launching visual-field screening into Denmark and Norway.
a brief glimpse of compassion of our teams, and inspire this report, is, more than 740 partners, 5,750 store colleagues and We also saw a record attendance at our clinical conferences
the hard work and without question, my personal highlight of the year. have surpassed A$1 billion in turnover. In 2017/18 with more than 2,000 delegates.
commitment of our
alone, our teams carried out 3.8 million eye tests,
partners and our store and support colleagues The secret of our success is simple: our stellar supplied nearly 5 million pairs of glasses and sold This year saw the exciting launch of our own designer
across all our markets. These pages stand testament performance, sustained over many years, has been 18 million contact lenses. brand, Scandamania, and more than 2,300 store colleagues
to the incredible achievements, the milestones, achieved by everyone within the Specsavers Partnership the numbers – but most importantly, they bear doing the little things that matter, better, every day. But over and above the incredible figures, we made programme. eCommerce for contact lenses went live in
witness to the heart-warming personal stories It is this unrelenting obsession to live our values and some serious inroads into bridging the gap between Norway, to expand our online offer that is already available
that underpin everything. improve every day that ultimately enables us to help 36 optometry and ophthalmology as we continued our in Sweden and the Netherlands.
million customers to live a better quality of life. partnership with RANZCO, and worked towards our aim
take part in our version of the CREATE development
of transforming eye health for millions of people across We also enjoyed celebrating our 20th anniversary of optics
instance, who contacted us to say: ‘thanks for testing my We all know that our future is changing rapidly. Political, the region by launching OCT in our stores, to detect in the Netherlands, and 10 years since the launch of our
hearing and contacting my GP with the results. It was social, economic and technological changes are glaucoma and other debilitating diseases. audiology business there, as well as our 10th anniversary
because of this that I was finally referred for an MRI scan impacting fundamentally on how all of us live and work. after years of my symptoms not being taken seriously With the strength of the unique Specsavers Partnership, 2017 also saw the exciting introduction of our audiology by my doctor. If it weren’t for you, I would never have the capabilities of the teams who support it, and a clear partnership model in the Southern Hemisphere. We I am sure the coming year will be just as exciting, especially
found out that I have a brain tumour, which I am going long-term framework, we are fantastically well placed got off to a fantastic start, enabling us to expand our as systems and technology continue play an ever-
to receive treatment for’. to respond. And in so doing, to ensure that Specsavers offering of the highest-quality professional service and increasing role in our everyday lives. I am really interested
The story of one of our audiology customers, for
in Finland.
continues to make a positive, tangible difference in best possible value in hearing aid technology to our to see how these opportunities will simplify how we work,
Or maybe Cerys’s story. Cerys is a seven-year-old with every community in which we operate. We are all proud Australian customers. optimise our business, and support us in our ambitions of
cerebral palsy and learning difficulties, who suffered of what we have achieved in the past 12 months – but anxiety attacks whenever rain fell on to her glasses. even more excited about what the future holds.
market leadership.
While the next 10 years will no doubt see even greater
Other opticians had told Cerys she was too young changes in both the retail landscape and customer to wear contact lenses, or couldn’t because of her expectations, I know Specsavers ANZ is in a strong condition – our store team took the time to fit Cerys with position and I am really looking forward to the next Nigel Parker, Managing Director -
phase of our journey. ANZ & Northern Europe
daily lenses and teach her mum how to help her with
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John Perkins, Joint Group CEO
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