Annual Review 2012/13 The Specsavers Partnership

We are delighted to welcome you to the 2012/13

Specsavers annual review.

Specsavers has just entered its 30th year in business.

In this time, it has grown from one store in the south-west

of England, to more than 1,650 stores in 10 countries.

Times are exceptionally tough and, regrettably, this year

has seen the disappearance of a number of well-known

high-street names. Despite these challenges, Specsavers

has continued to perform well, looking after 11.6% more

customers and achieving a 6.9% increase in total revenue

year-on-year.

So what is it that drives our success? Partnership.

We talk about partnership being at the heart of everything we do. By this, we mean providing

outstanding business support to ensure our store businesses thrive. Standing shoulder to shoulder

with partners. Working with partners towards common goals. Putting the customer first. Delivering

on our promises. Consulting, listening, learning, challenging. Making it happen together.

When we opened the first store in Bristol back in 1984, we became the first partners. Since then, we

have been joined by more than 2,500 professionals around the world, all working towards the same

vision: to passionately provide best value eyecare and hearing care to everyone, simply, clearly and

consistently, exceeding customer expectations every time.

Partnership has led Specsavers to become the world’s largest private optical group. And it will continue

to define our success into the future. We are incredibly proud to have been there at the beginning and

be part of it still today.

Doug Perkins

Chairman and Co-founderDame Mary Perkins

Co-founder

Introduction

Our Vision To passionately provide best value eyecare and hearing care to everyone, simply, clearly and consistently, exceeding customer expectations every time.

Our Values Treat people as we would like to be treated ourselves.

Passionate about:

• Our customers – the lifeblood of our business

• Our people – supporting our sta� to be the best they can be

• Partnership – at the heart of everything we do

• Communities – giving back to and working with our local communities

• Results – keep it simple, get it done, deliver on our promises

Contents

469

121618

212224

The Specsavers Partnership at a glance

Customers

People

Partnership

Communities

Results

The year ahead

The Specsavers Board

Contact details

The Specsavers Partnership at a glance

First store

198

4

199

0

199

7

200

4

200

5

200

5

200

6

200

7

200

8

200

8

UK

Specsavers

Opticians

ROI

Specsavers

Opticians

Netherlands

Specsavers

Opticiens

Sweden

Specsavers

Optik

Norw

ay

Specsavers

Optikk

Denm

ark

Louis

Nielsen

Spain

Specsavers

Opticas

Finland

Specsavers

Optikko

Australia

Specsavers

Optometrists

New

Zealand

Specsavers

Optometrists

UK

ROI

Netherlands

Sweden

Norway

Denmark

Spain

Finland

Australia

New Zealand

Total revenue end of 2012/13

£981.3m

£58.4m

£74.2m

£85.5m

£70.5m

£81.1m

£3.9m

£34.4m

£345.9m

£43.7m

UK

ROI

Netherlands

Sweden

Norway

Denmark

Spain

Finland

Australia

New Zealand

115

114

74

78

Number of stores at end of 2012/13

8

57

276

686

44

53

optical

UK

ROI

Netherlands

540

31

97

9

hearing centres / optical stores providing hearing care services

122

35

Total revenue 2012/13

£

Total number of partners

Total number of employees

Total number of contact lenses sold

Total number of hearing aids sold

2,500+ 30,000+

Total number of frames sold

13 million

£1.8 billion

340m

78,000+

04 / 05

Number of stores £ million revenue

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

1000

1050

950

900

850

800

750

700

1350

1400

1450

1500

1300

1250

1200

1150

1100

650

600

550

500

450

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

1550

1600

1700

1800

2010

2011

2012

Total number of optical and hearing stores

1,662

% increase on revenue 2011/12

6.9%

Passionate about our customersThe lifeblood of our business

We continually seek ways to deliver ever-better value and service to customers by doing the right thing by them.

No compromiseWhen we talk about delivering best value, it is not just about great prices; it is also about a great customer experience and great choice. No compromise. That’s why we have continued to provide offers such as free glasses for every contact lens wearer. It is why we focus on reducing waiting times, on improving the customer experience with new stores, refits and graphics, and continue to invest in our people to ensure they provide the very best customer service. And it is why we launched 463 new frame styles in 2012.

We continue to introduce exciting new brands, most recently Armani across all markets, Collette Dinnigan in Australia, Francisco van Benthum in the Netherlands and Sand and Redgreen in the Nordics. We have refreshed some of our existing designer ranges, including Gok Wan, Tommy Hilfiger, Karen Millen, Alex Perry and Spijkers and Spijkers, as well as extending our prescription sunglasses range. And 2013 sees more exciting brand launches, including John Rocha in the UK and Republic of Ireland in April, and BOSS Orange in the UK and Asia Pacific a couple of months later.

Reaching more customersIn 2012/2013, the Specsavers Partnership was able to reach more customers than ever:

We opened 50 new stores worldwide in a range of locations, from Lerwick – the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland – to Chatswood, a bustling suburb of Sydney, Australia.

We opened a new store at Lakeside shopping centre in Thurrock, UK, offering brand new features including the Eye Bar, where customers can use IT to demonstrate the full range of different lenses on offer. Satellite iPads allow staff to serve customers anywhere in the store, often saving the time of needing to seat them at a particular workstation, while customers can use IT to check out the range of lenses available. And we rebranded more than 130 stores globally to enhance the customer experience.

In Australia and New Zealand we have introduced a convenient online system for ordering contact lenses, delivering direct to the customer’s door, and now have a 20%-plus share of the contact lens market.

We have improved the pricing structure of our frames across our Nordic markets to deliver even better value to customers. Customers can now choose free Reactions, UltraClear, standard varifocal or thin lenses with their single pair of glasses, or they can opt for our 2 for 1 offer and get one of these lens options for half the normal price.

The introduction of the AQP (Any qualified provider) model for purchasing NHS services in England has provided a huge opportunity for Specsavers to offer free, high-quality NHS digital hearing aids to customers. AQP means that free NHS hearing care is now provided with the choice, service and convenience that you get with Specsavers.

By the end of February 2013 we had won all 21 regional AQP contracts for which we bid and, since then, have won several more. Tens of thousands of customers are already benefiting and, in the regions where we have been live for more than three months, one in four people now choose to visit Specsavers for their free NHS hearing aids.

‘We included new SuperTough Trivex lenses in kids’ glasses at no extra cost across all markets, helping to deliver product that is fit for purpose for our younger customers while offering great value for money.’

06 / 07

‘When Spain announced that the rate of IVA would increase from 8% to 10%, we froze prices so that customers would not be impacted at our tills.’

Top: A partner helping a customer in a UK store. Inset: The new fl agship store in Chatswood, Australia, which has been fi tted to our latest specifi cation.

In December alone, we opened 19 new hearing centres in the Netherlands, and the Dutch are all now within a 30-minute drive of Specsavers hearing services. This led to a successful tender to become one of three preferred hearing care providers for Achmea, the biggest health insurer in the Netherlands covering a third of the market.

We are committed to providing products that offer comfort and flexibility, which is why we give customers the opportunity to trial contact lenses before buying. The size of our business means we have access to the latest technology and develop many of our products in close cooperation with top manufacturers. This year, we have been able to offer new silicone hydrogel contact lenses at lower prices, thereby making the best and most comfortable lenses available to even more customers. They have proved so popular that they now account for more than 80% of monthly contact lenses sales.

a-MAZE-ing customer feedbackMAZE, our customer feedback system, is now live in all territories. Getting feedback direct from customers is incredibly important to us as it helps build closer customer relationships in store, as well as helping us to understand customer needs at a national level so that we can develop our retail offer. Last year, we heard from well over half a million people through the system. More than 85% were rated as ambassadors for the brand.

From top: Mad Men star Christina Hendricks, face of the 2012 Spectacle Wearer of the Year (SWOTY) competition in Australia and New Zealand. Supermodel Helena Christensen, who helped promote the 2011 SWOTY in Australia and New Zealand before returning to her roots in 2012 to be the face of SWOTY in Denmark. Leading Dutch designer Francisco van Benthum, whose frames range has been a real hit with both press and public since its launch in May 2012.

Digital retinal photography, which we now o� er free in our Nordic stores as well as stores in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Spain, Australia and New Zealand, can help save the lives of customers by fl agging potential health issues early on.

As was the case with 11-year-old Lucy Briggs when, in January 2013, optometrist Catherine Philpott of Specsavers Rochdale detected a swelling in the back of Lucy’s eye and advised an immediate hospital visit.

There doctors performed a CT scan and found a large brain tumour. Lucy spent two months in hospital and had five operations before being able to return home to recover. Most of the tumour, which was benign, was removed and Lucy must now have regular checks to ensure it does not grow back. A shunt has been fitted to relieve pressure from her brain and she may require chemotherapy or radiotherapy, but doctors are confident she will come through the ordeal.

Dad Ian Shaw, said: ‘It has been a real whirlwind. Were it not for Specsavers, Lucy would not be here today. We are so grateful to them for noticing something was wrong.’

Passionate about our peopleSupporting our sta� to be the best they can be

08 / 09

The future of the Specsavers Partnership depends on building teams with the skills and the attitude to provide brilliant service, every time, for every customer. Which is why we continued to invest heavily in our people in 2012/13.

Open lines of communicationWe use a range of different ways to keep store staff up to date on operational news and engaged in what they do, and to support learning and development.

ProFile, our journal for professional staff, went global in early 2013, now reaching an audience of well over 10,000 worldwide. Our quarterly In The Frame magazine is now published for store staff across all our territories. Tailored to each market, the magazine brings frame news to store teams in an engaging format and contains useful information that can be passed on to customers.

In addition to these and other printed publications, we have invested in a new intranet, Connect, to improve the speed, quality and accessibility of news and information for store teams. As well as a wealth of support and resources, Connect includes forums to encourage dialogue and knowledge sharing. It is now live for stores in the UK, Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, and will launch in the Nordics in 2013.

Inspirational development for store teamsMore than 1,000 store managers attended our Managers Seminar in the UK this year, the biggest seminar yet with attendance up 40% on the previous year. Guest presenter was British Paralympian swimmer Marc Wood, who spoke about leadership and the need to ensure that everyone is working towards shared goals. Delegate feedback was excellent, with one store manager saying: ‘My head is full of new information about how we can make our store better – there is so much to pass on to the team.’

Our support to stores has a greater people focus than ever before. A globally consistent approach to learning and development helps us enhance the experience of our customers, wherever they are in the world.

This is why we now have active people plans across all markets, setting out training and development priorities for the year ahead. Training support teams regularly visit store partners to help develop and track these plans and to coach individuals in their development. The people plans dovetail with store business plans to ensure that, ultimately, they support business success.

Below left: In the frame, our magazine for store sta� , which went global this year. Below: Store managers enjoying themselves at the 2013 UK Manager Seminar.

Passionate about our peopleSupporting our sta� to be the best they can be

Connect Learning, our online learning management system, is set to be live in all territories by the end of summer 2013. The system provides one port of call for retail, management and laboratory training and allows individuals to track their own development, access learning resources and book courses. The system had well over a quarter of a million hits this year.

We provide a range of retail, operational and clinical training across all our markets to help staff develop the skills needed to provide exceptional service and care to customers. Professional development is key to our training offer and includes something for all levels from ophthalmic dispensing assistant to director-level optometrist.

We now run five MBO programmes (vocational qualifications) at the Deltion College in the Netherlands and have a student in almost every store studying to become an MBO 4 optician. With 275 MBO-qualified opticians in 113 stores, we have by far the highest ‘optician density’ of any Dutch optical chain. The first 10 people graduated as lab managers on the MBO 2 programme in 2012, and the first group of MBO 3 sales specialists will graduate in 2013.

In the UK and Republic of Ireland we will be welcoming more than 300 second-year optometry students on summer placements in 2013, with a view to them returning to the store in the following academic year as pre-registration students.

As the hearing care side of our business grows in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands, it is a priority to attract and develop audiologists to serve our customers. In the UK and Republic of Ireland, we launched a hearing care programme that attracted30 BSc audiology graduates. We aim to attract about 70 graduates a year through this programme, as well as continuing to develop audiologists from within the business.

But supporting our people isn’t just about delivering effective communication and development opportunities. It’s about finding out what they think and feel. We ran a staff survey in our UK and Republic of Ireland stores to do just that. Adapted from our survey for support office staff, the Insight survey included 94 per cent of stores and was a real success. Seventy-eight per cent of staff had their say and there is a commitment from partners to use the results to make positive changes in store.

Investment in our support sta� For support offices, we introduced a new set of behaviours to help define the way we work, wherever we are based. Linking closely with our values, they guide our work day to day and include specific expectations for people managers. The latest module in our leadership development programme explored the importance of engaging with and enabling teams and was delivered to our broader leadership group in all markets. This year’s two-day Leadership Conference evolved these messages with a focus on how to create high-performing teams.

We launched a new, global corporate induction for all support office staff. Ninety-five per cent of new starters attended the induction within their first four weeks and the majority worked in store to help them understand the retail side of the business. More than 1,800 people attended courses through the Specsavers Academy this year, with many of the programmes and courses on offer now run globally.

Above: New starters try out some frames at the global corporate induction. Opposite: A member of the team at our Heerenveen store in the Netherlands.

10 / 11

‘More than 1,000 store managers attended our Managers Seminar in the UK this year, the biggest seminar yet with attendance up 40% on the previous year.’

Passionate about partnershipAt the heart of everything we do

The ability to succeed in tough times is down to our green blood – living by our values and always striving for better. Across all of our markets, the Specsavers Partnership is led by people who do just that – engaged, motivated store partners who inspire their teams to deliver outstanding service and form lasting bonds with their customers. As such our biggest priority is to ensure our partners get the support they need.

Partner communication and feedback are critical. This year we developed ever-closer relationships with partners across all markets through regular regional meetings, leading partner forums, annual partner seminars and conferences, and regular user groups.

More than 1,500 Specsavers opticians and hearing care practitioners attended the 17th UK Professional Advancement Conference, the biggest PAC to date. A range of lectures and workshops and a packed exhibition hall ensured there was something for all – including Specsavers’ hearing aid dispensers who were attending their second PAC. The winning PAC formula was adopted in Australia last year, with the inaugural conference welcoming 250 delegates from our Australian and New Zealand stores.

We offer a number of partnership development programmes to build ‘green blood’ leadership in our stores and to develop a robust talent pipeline to gear us up for continuing success.

Pathway, an intensive course to develop the joint venture partners of the future, was launched in the UK and Republic of Ireland and is now being implemented in Australia and New Zealand.

Pathway nurtures the next generation of partners from within the business, the ‘young stars’ who will take Specsavers to new heights in the years to come. Our Partners in Development programme, which is already run in the UK and Australia, launched in the Nordics and the Netherlands last year. Run over 12 weeks, the programme is designed to develop retail partners for new and existing stores, combining classroom training with store experience.

Piloted in February, a new induction programme is now run for all new partners globally. The five-day residential course focuses on people management and leadership, the Specsavers brand and values, developing a customer-first culture, financial awareness and responsibilities, and operational opportunities. It also helps partners who have been developed within the business to make a quick and successful transition into their new role.

This year, record numbers of partners enrolled on Spotlight, our development programme for existing partners in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Almost 1,000 have been on or are currently attending the programme. And we launched Profit Through Your Leadership workshops – a partner-led concept first introduced in our Australian business – in the Nordics with around four out of five of partners now taking part. This initiative will go live in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2013.

‘Almost 1,000 partners have been on or are currently attending Spotlight, our development programme for partners in the UK and Republic of Ireland.’

‘Continuous improvement in our supply chain processes and services means that 99.4% of stock is now delivered to stores on time, a record high in service levels to partners.’

12 / 13

From top: Keynote speaker at the 2012 PAC Professor Nathan Efron – an eminent name in the world of contact lens research – who also spoke at the Specsavers Clinical Conference in Australia. An example of our KompletPris point-of-sale material in the Nordics. A bird’s eye view of the 2012 UK Partner Seminar at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.

We put a number of initiatives in place to help boost partner profitability in the Nordics; launched a new pricing structure to deliver even more value to our customers; enhanced the impact of our marketing; rebranded 46 stores; recruited 53 new partners and streamlined the way our Nordic office teams work together. Greater focus in these areas has reaped rewards with a significant increase in customer volumes and a series of record sales weeks.

In the UK and Republic of Ireland we continue to support the Partnership Charter to deliver great service to partners, and have now introduced a Partnership Charter in Australia and New Zealand to set out our commitments to each other. And, during tough times, we continue to deliver cost savings to partners, including £21 million to UK and Republic of Ireland partners, and have introduced financial incentives to improve service and drive performance in the Nordics, Australia and New Zealand.

We continued to expand the supply chain in 2012 with the opening of a state-of-the-art, purpose-designed, lens coating facility in Kidderminster. Adjoining one of our existing sites, the facility has doubled capacity there and now coats in excess of 50,000 lenses a week.

All our manufacturing and distribution sites operate on a joint venture partnership basis which means better control over quality assurance and swifter responses to changing market conditions. Six of our eight sites – all those assessed to date – have been accredited with the Carl Zeiss Vision three-star standard of operational excellence, a fantastic endorsement of the way our sites are run.

The Specsavers supply chain works to a set of quality and service level guarantees that assure a high standard of delivery to stores. Continuous improvement in our supply chain processes and services has led to 99.4% of stock now being delivered to stores on time, a record high in service levels to partners. The Specsavers Partnership continues to flourish with customer service levels up across all our markets and an increase of 11.6% in customer volumes worldwide.

Passionate about partnershipAt the heart of everything we do

‘The partnership with Specsavers and Louis Nielsen gives me a unique opportunity to fulfil my personal goals, and at the same time help other people with great value eyecare.Specsavers and Louis Nielsen have over the years provided me with the tools I needed to run a business known for great service and great products in my hometown.’ Hans Præst, Randers store, Denmark

‘We’ve got the best people working for us and we know they will push our brand forward, whatever it takes.’ Glen McGregor, Epsom store, UK

‘My experience of being a partner has presented me with a challenge to be successful in the local community, manage staff and run a business. I have not been disappointed and would recommend the experience to anyone.’ Pratish Bhundia, Swadlincote store, UK

‘Just two and a half years after opening our store, we have just about outgrown our current premises of two consulting rooms and are looking to relocate and double our testing capacity and retail floor space. It’s simple: the Specsavers Partnership model really works.’ Gurpreet Rai and Scott Bissett, East Maitland store, New South Wales

‘Just two and a half years after opening our store, we have just about outgrown our current premises of two consulting rooms and are looking to relocate and double our testing capacity and retail floor space. It’s simple: the Specsavers Partnership model really works.’ Gurpreet Rai and Scott Bissett, East Maitland store, New South Wales

‘The rewards for being a Specsavers partner are numerous: seeing the fruit of all your hard work, with a flourishing business; being your own boss with day-to-day control of running the practice;having like-minded directors in other stores, with whom you can share and build upon the brand; marketing, operational and product development support; second-to-none buying power which helps the bottom line.’ Amrik Sappal and Judy Borland, Fuengirola store, Spain

‘The rewards for being a Specsavers partner are numerous: seeing the fruit of all your hard work, with a flourishing business; being your own boss with day-to-day control of running the practice;having like-minded directors in other stores, with whom you can share and build upon the brand; marketing, operational and product development support; second-to-none buying power which helps the bottom line.’ Amrik Sappal and Judy Borland, Fuengirola store, Spain

14 / 1514 / 15

‘Joining the Specsavers Partnership has been a good move. I can run my own optical business with all the experience of the Specsavers brand behind me: marketing strategy, purchasing power and good management support at every level.’ Martijn Dumas, Ridderkerk store, the Netherlands

‘The Partnership differentiates usfrom our competitors – some have tried to replicate it but, as with all replicas, it’s not the same as the real thing.’ Shaf Zaman, London Victoria store, UK

‘With the business support that Specsavers provides, I can focus on doing the things I’m good at. That’s the beauty of the partnership, you’re doing it together. The individual stores and the support office have a common goal: to make the store as successful as possible. And the success of the Specsavers formula has long been proven.’ Eric van Baars, Maastricht store, the Netherlands

‘The whole thing is a real buzz for both partners. Having a partner with dispensing and retail experience means that I can focus on what I love best, practising full-scope optometry and investing all my time in my patients’ eye health. The Specsavers partnership model completely supports that.’ Chris Boyle, Auckland store, New Zealand

‘The whole thing is a real buzz for both partners. Having a partner with dispensing and retail experience means that I can focus on what I love best, practising full-scope optometry and investing all my time in my patients’ eye health. The Specsavers partnership model completely supports that.’ Chris Boyle, Auckland store, New Zealand

‘Joining the Specsavers Partnership has helped me provide even better service to my customers. The great support I get from the team in the Oslo office makes this possible.’

Erik Wøllo, Drammen store, Norway

‘Joining the Specsavers Partnership has helped me provide even better service to my customers. The great support I get from the team in the Oslo office makes this possible.’

Erik Wøllo, Drammen store, Norway

Passionate about our communitiesGiving back to and working with our local communities

We believe in citizenship and are passionate about supporting our local communities and national good causes. We are also committed to supporting eyecare and hearing care projects in developing countries.

In the past 12 months, Specsavers has raised £1.2 million across the world for charities and good causes.

Our stores support numerous charities and good causes throughout the year, ranging from very local initiatives to national charities, including Guide Dogs for the Blind in the UK and Republic of Ireland. And our support office staff are encouraged to give their time to good causes through our ‘Giving back to local communities’ volunteer programme.

Find out more about Specsavers’ community involvement as well as our ethical and environmental commitment in the Specsavers Corporate Responsibility Report, available at specsavers.co.uk

1 More than 30,000 high-visibility vests were donated by UK and Republic of Ireland stores to primary schoolchildren to help make sure they are seen more clearly when outside in the dark.

2 Fijian Sarla Prasad with Specsavers charity ambassador Peta Mathias after receiving sight-restoring surgery on her eyes at a Fred Hollows Foundation New Zealand outreach centre.

2

4

31

5

16 / 17

3 The Athletics Athloi club in Utrecht receive a cheque for €2,000 (£1,700) from the Stichting Specsavers Steunt, the Specsavers charity foundation in the Netherlands.

4 More than 100 men in our Guernsey and UK offices and in the stores grew moustaches during November to raise money for men’s cancer charities. The £25,000 raised was matched by Specsavers and then doubled by company co-founder Doug Perkins, bringing the final total to £100,000 and making us one of the leading fund-raising teams in the UK.

5 Finnish stores collected unwanted glasses from customers and donated them to Sri Lanka, as part of a project set up by Vision for All.

6 We opened three vision centres in Zambia in 2012/13, and there are now a total of five centres in the country as well as the Specsavers-funded optometry training school in the capital, Lusaka. So far 22,000 patients have received eyecare in the Specsavers-funded centres.

7 Our UK and Ireland stores continued to support numerous charities and good causes, ranging from very local initiatives such as raising money for local community centres and hospices and sponsoring sports teams, to national charities such as Guide Dogs for the Blind and Vision Aid Overseas.

8 Over 250 people spent a day of work time supporting a huge range of good causes as part of our ‘Giving back to our local communities’ policy.

6

87

5

The year 2012/2013 was another challenging one that saw continued instability in the global economy. By putting the customer at the heart of everything we do, and staying true to our vision that affordable eyecare and hearing care should be available to all, Specsavers has adapted to the changing market and performed well.

We have achieved some great results. Here are some highlights:

• Seeing 9.5 million more customers this year, an increase of 11.6%

• Opening 50 new stores worldwide

• Strong performance in the UK and Republic of Ireland, leading to a retail turnover in those markets of more than £1 billion in 2012, and 300 of our stores earning record sales weeks in the first 10 weeks of 2013

• Being successful in all 25 tenders to date to provide free hearing aids to customers on behalf of the NHS in England

• Revitalising our pricing structure across the Nordics and the Netherlands to ensure we are able to deliver even better value and support to customers in these challenging times

• Our Port Melbourne laboratory manufacturing and dispatching more than 55,000 pairs of glasses each week to our Australian and New Zealand store networks

• Improved results in our Nordic markets as a result of our efforts to restart the Specsavers revolution in the region, with significantly more customers through our doors and a series of record weeks

• Specsavers Opticiens winning Best Optical Chain at the 2012 ING Retail Excellence Awards – as voted by the Dutch public

• Dispatching around 2.5 million frames from our frame warehouse in Hong Kong in its first full year of operating as the distribution centre for stores in Australia and New Zealand

Passionate about resultsKeep it simple, get it done, deliver on our promises

‘Our children’s market has been another success story this year, thanks to SuperTough Trivex lenses and exciting new brands, with UK kids’ volumes up 9%.’

18 / 19

• The consolidation and restructuring of our store networkin Finland, enabling us to focus on stores in the larger towns where we can offer best value for money eyecare and maximise growth – and attracting a significant increase in customers to our stores in the last six months of the year

• Our children’s market which has been another success story this year, thanks to SuperTough Trivex lenses and exciting new brands, with UK kids’ volumes up 9%

• IT service delivery, which is at 99.6%, supporting a system that manages 9.5 million customers across 1,700 locations

• Being endorsed as the industry’s best and coolest optician in Denmark by receiving all three Optimus Awards – Denmark’s most prestigious awards for graduate opticians

• Our Creative department winning another clutch of awards for our memorable advertising

®

• Opening two new stores in Spain (in Guardamar and Marbella) and our growth in that market in terms of both sales and customer volumes – especially compared to a Spanish optical market which is declining year on year

®

• Record-breaking sales for five consecutive weeks in Australia and New Zealand and revenue growth well in excess of 10% for the year – and being ‘highly commended’ in the VISA Australian Retailer of the Year category at the Australian Retail Association’s 2012 Retail Awards

From top: Lady and dog from the ‘Shocked by the price of hearing aids’ campaign. Louis Nielsen contact lens press ad. Ad to promote over-50s o� er in Spain. The Specsavers team at the Australian Retail Association’s Retail Awards 2012.

2012/13 was another fantastic year for the Specavers Partnership

which saw customer volumes and revenue up in spite of the

economic challenges.

I am often asked what is behind our success. There is no simple

answer to this; it is not down to one big thing done well but

thousands of small things delivered brilliantly and with the passion

and energy for which Specsavers has become known. The preceding

pages are testament to this.

But there is one thing that makes all of this happen, one thing

at the heart of everything we do, and that is partnership.

Together with our partners, we will continue to succeed in these

tough times by focusing on the things that really matter: providing

exceptional clinical care and professionalism to customers;

developing outstanding Specsavers people with a customer-first

attitude; delivering quality that customers can depend on; offering

a staggering range of frames and brands; and developing our retail

offer to meet changing demands and to blow away the competition.

Business success does not come about by chance or being in the

right place at the right time. It happens through sound judgement,

agile decisions, grit and determination and an insatiable appetite

for better, higher, faster, more.

And, for the Specsavers Partnership, success comes about through

our 2,500-plus partners working tirelessly to delight their customers,

develop their staff and drive up the performance of their store

businesses. 2013/14 promises to be an exciting and challenging year

for us and, through our trademark passion and energy, it is set to be

a successful one.

John Perkins

Managing Director

The year ahead

20 / 21

The Specsavers Board

Doug PerkinsChairman and Co-founder

A qualified and registered optometrist, Doug is responsible for the overall success of the Partnership. He also has specific responsibilities for driving professional standards within Specsavers and influencing the regulatory agenda across all our markets. He and his wife Mary established Specsavers in 1984 with its unique joint venture partnership concept and the vision of making eyecare more affordable. In 2006 and 2012 respectively, He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Anglia University and from Plymouth University. Doug is also an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University and of Swansea University.

John PerkinsManaging Director

John joined Specsavers in 1998 and worked in UK operations and the international teams before joining the Board as Commercial Director in 2003. In 2007, he was appointed Managing Director. A qualified chartered accountant with an MBA in retailing, John spent five years with Deloitte before joining Specsavers.

Dame Mary PerkinsCo-founder

Also a qualified and registered optometrist, Dame Mary monitors the culture and direction of the company. She plays an active role on a number of national and local charities and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2007 as well as being appointed ambassador for Vision Aid Overseas in 2009. Dame Mary is an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Plymouth University in 2012.

Derek DysonGroup Retail Director

Derek joined Specsavers in 1998 with responsibility for UK operations. In addition to his responsibilities for retail advancement across our global network, Derek assumed the role of General Manager of Australasia in January 2012 and, currently based in Melbourne, is leading the Australian and New Zealand business in its next phase of development. Before Specsavers, Derek spent 27 years with Tesco, progressing from trainee store manager to retail operations director.

22 / 23

Pauline BestGroup HR Director

Pauline joined Specsavers in 2008 as Group HR Director, responsible for all elements of people and organisation strategy and activity across the group. Before joining Specsavers, she spent 20 years working in mobile communications, including 12 years with Vodafone, where she held positions of HR director UK, regional HR director northern Europe, Middle East and Africa and most recently their global leadership, talent and people capability director.

Richard Holmes Group Marketing Director

Richard joined the Board in 2007 as marketing director, responsible for the development of the global brand and for marketing and PR activities in all countries. He previously worked for Boots where he held a number of marketing roles over 10 years, including being responsible for the launch of their Advantage Card programme. Prior to this, he worked for 13 years for Unilever, based in London, Paris and Milan focusing on fast-moving consumer goods.

Paul FusseyChief Financial O� cer

Paul joined Specsavers in 2009 and has overall responsibility for the finance, tax, property, legal and IT functions of the business. He joined from Boots UK where he was finance director for the last three years and also held positions of divisional finance director for supply chain and shared services and managing director for Boots’ manufacturing division with operations in the UK, France, Germany, Poland and the Far East. Prior to Boots, Paul had various roles at MFI Furniture Group including finance director for Hygena, Schreiber and supply chain.

Nigel ParkerChief Commercial O� cer

Nigel joined the Board in 2006, taking on responsibility for product development, the sourcing of frames, contact lenses, spectacles and accessories and for global procurement. Later, he took on responsibility for the group’s commercial and international expansion activity and, in 2012, assumed overall responsibility for our Nordic operations as well as group manufacturing and distribution. He joined Specsavers in 1997 from Essilor, the world’s largest manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses, and became director of ophthalmic lens development and then director of commercial development.

Partnership opportunities with Specsavers

NetherlandsOptical and hearing Robin LokeTel +31 61 503 4086

Australia and New ZealandRaj SundarjeeTel +61 (0)424 135 485

UK and ROI Optical – David Martin Tel +44 (0)845 2020 241 / 07585 307897

Hearing – James Thompson Tel +44 (0)845 2020 241 / 07766 498259

NordicsMatt ScottTel +44 (0)7765 243 107

SpainJose Angel Moral-TajaduraTel +34 637 237 320James WestTel +44 (0)7879 430 844

For all other opportunities please contact Matt ScottTel +44 (0)7765 243 107

Corporate opportunities with Specsavers specsavers.com/careers

Contact details

GuernseySpecsavers Optical GroupLa VilliazeSt Andrew’sGY6 8YP

SouthamptonSpecsavers Optical SuperstoresForum 6Solent Business ParkWhiteleyHampshirePO15 7PA

NottinghamSpecsavers Optical SuperstoresCirrus House10 Experian WayNG2 1EP

Tel (UK callers) 0845 2020 241(International callers) Tel +44 (0)1481 1000 241

NetherlandsSpecsavers International BVHuizermaatweg 320-3221276 LJ HuizenTel +31 (0)35 628 8311

Copenhagen support o�ceSpecsaversStamholmen 153 4. sal2650 Hvidovre Denmark Tel +45 (0)36 94 4594

DenmarkLouis Nielsen A/SIndkildevej 2A9210 Aalborg SØTel +45 (0)70 13 0111

FinlandSpecsavers Finland OyNeilikkatie 1701300 VantaaTel +35 (0)810 218 4380

NorwaySpecsavers Norway ASGrenseveien 107BPO Box 0601EtterstadN-0601 OsloTel +47 (0)4830 9040

SwedenSpecsavers Sweden ABBox 205SE-401 23 GöteborgTel +46 (0)31 771 9800

Hong KongSpecsavers Procurement Asia LimitedUnit 1701, 17/F Lu PlazaNo. 2 Wing Yip StreetKwun TongKowloonTel +852 (0) 3719 0000

ChinaSpecsavers Procurement Asia LtdNo. 2163 B/603 Wan Yuan RoadShanghai201103

AustraliaSpecsavers Pty LtdThe G520 Graham StreetPort MelbourneVictoria 3207Tel +61 (0)3 8645 0700

New ZealandSpecsavers New Zealand LtdUnit A, 26 Triton DriveMairangi BayAuckland 0632Tel +64 (0)9 475 0250

SpecsaversLa VilliazeSt Andrew’s Guernsey Channel IslandsGY6 8YP

Tel +44 (0)207 2020 241

specsavers.com

Printed on recycled paper

Cover image: Malini and Krupesh Barchha, partners at the Specsavers Winchester store, UK