As Chris Bennett alludes to in his interview with Doug and Mary Perkins on the 40th anniversary of Specsavers, the multiple and its co-founders have taken criticism from some quarters of the optical sector.
Even if you’re one of a minority that, for whatever reason, has taken a dim view of Specsavers over the years, it’s nearly impossible not to be in awe of the impact the company and its co-founders have had on retail optics around the world over the course of the past four decades.
Since taking over as editor of Optician in September 2019, I’ve had numerous meetings and several dinners with Doug and Dame Mary. The one thing that strikes me every time is their passion for the optometry profession, even into their 80s.
They could have walked off into a well-deserved Guernsey sunset many, many years ago, but they haven’t, because they’re so invested in the profession and how Specsavers needs to adapt to how the profession changes.
Chris was brave enough to bring up the issue of retirement, but once you get an insight into Doug and Dame Mary’s busy schedules, you’ll see that full retirement is some way off yet.
At 100% Optical recently, I bumped into the pair not long after the show had opened, and we stopped to have a chat about Optician’s Valentine’s day visit to Guernsey before they headed off to their stand.
I seriously doubt there was genuine business necessity that required them to be in East London at 10am on Saturday morning, but they seemed happy to be there, and definitely happier than me about it.
It’s hard to imagine any of the company’s future-looking endeavours, such as remote eye testing and expansion in Canada, being anything but a runaway success.
Both of these projects have taken a long time to be introduced, so while it’s likely Doug and Dame Mary will probably have stepped away by the time they’re deemed a success or failure, the senior management team they have set up mean the company is in safe hands for decades to come.