Specsavers founders celebrate 40 years since opening of first shop
Specsavers had an eye on the past and the future yesterday as it celebrated the 40th anniversary of its first store opening with cake and a plaque unveiling.
Some 500 staff gathered in the company’s canteen at its headquarters at La Villiaize to watch a 30-minute presentation delivered by company founders Doug and Mary Perkins and partnership director Jack Ismail, which celebrated the company’s achievements.
An additional presentation was given at the company’s branch in Market Street in St Peter Port, where a plaque detailing a timeline of the company’s history was unveiled by Dame Mary and Mr Perkins following a brief speech by partner Michael Todd.
Mrs Perkins, who also happened to be celebrating her 80th birthday the same day, said the company continued to go from strength to strength.
‘I remember our first day open in Trinity Square 40 years ago today, we had a lot of people coming in to the shop to look, but you can never think too far ahead about what might happen in the future.
‘We thought we could get to 100 stores, now we are set to open our 1,000th store in Harpenden soon.’
She also paid tribute to the company’s people.
‘We could not have achieved this without their support and hard work. We’ve always looked to employ people who know more than we do in each area of the business.’
Mr Perkins said the occasion was an emotional one.
‘No one thought we could succeed. Back in 1984 we had every pound on the line, but the gamble paid off, it didn’t seem like anything could go wrong.’
The couple came up with the idea of Specsavers after moving to Guernsey, having retired from their optical group in the UK. Its first desk was a ping pong table in their spare room.
It has grown to be the world’s largest privately-owned eye care and audiology company, with more than 2,500 partner businesses in 11 countries, and Guernsey’s largest private employer.
