Specsavers casts eye on Winnipeg

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This article was published 09/09/2024 (609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One European company has circled Winnipeg as its newest destination — and it’s bringing an opening offer of $39 eyeglasses.

Specsavers arrived at CF Polo Park and St. Vital Centre last month. A third location in Crestview, at 3655 Portage Ave., is slated to open Thursday.

Another three locations could appear in the city by year end — probably in the northern suburbs and the southwest, according to Darrel Magna, Specsavers growth director.

“The important thing for us is that we are able to provide services across the whole of Winnipeg,” he said.

The United Kingdom-based eyewear chain is unrolling a massive Canada-wide expansion plan.

Its first Canadian location opened in Nanaimo, B.C., in November 2021. Its 130th location opened in Calgary last week.

Tamara Kuzmanovic’s Specsavers outlet accepted its first customers Aug. 26. She’s placed a “grand opening” sign boasting of the limited-time offer of $39 glasses outside the St. Vital Centre shop (in a former Aldo footwear site by the food court).

Its signs bear slashed-through numbers as part of the opening sale: two pairs of glasses usually costing $149 are now $99; two pairs from $249 are now $189, they boast.

“That expansion, I can tell they’re doing it aggressively across Canada,” Kuzmanovic said. “I think that’s the right way, because you don’t get forgotten.”

She’s been an optician for 18 years. Her interest piqued when she learned Specsavers — which has stores in 10 countries — would enter Canada.

The company dislikes being called a franchise, though it functions on a similar model: Specsavers finds optometrist and optician partners to co-own and operate its locations.

Kuzmanovic contacted the brand roughly two years ago.

“The reputation is really good — that was important to me,” she said. “(I) like that they more emphasize care for the patients.”

It took some time; she waited for permits and other paperwork. Specsavers also focused on British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta first.

In the meantime, Kuzmanovic worked for another eyewear retailer.

“A lot of opticals were really curious, and, I would say, (having) a little bit of fear,” she said of Specsavers’ arrival. “We … can hit some lower market levels.”

Specsavers touts itself as an affordable eyewear option. Once the $39 glasses deal ends, the subset of frames will be priced at $69.

Kylie Minogue and Vivienne Westwood are among the designer frame brands stocked in store.

There are other eyeglass providers within the south Winnipeg mall, but they’re farther away and don’t get the immediate walk-by traffic of the food court, Kuzmanovic noted.

She lives in the area and chose the mall because “it’s not huge, and it’s not small” and she likes the neighbourhood. An eye doctor will begin on site in October.

The CF Polo Park location, Winnipeg’s first Specsavers, opened Aug. 19.

“The customers seem pretty excited about our deals,” Katie Noteboom, the location’s owner, said with a laugh.

Noteboom, a Manitoba native, started as a Specsavers shop worker in New Zealand and climbed the ladder to management. When she heard the brand was expanding to Canada, she relocated home.

The “affordable eye care” is a positive for Manitoba, Noteboom said.

Communities like Brandon and Steinbach are also on Specsavers’ radar, according to the company’s growth director. “There’s a challenge in regional towns, trying to find health professionals (as partners),” Magna said.

The federal government is forecasting a labour shortage of optometrists between 2022 and 2031. Ottawa predicts 17,200 job seekers will be ready optometrists, chiropractors and other health diagnosing practitioners — a drop from the 17,900 needed.

Magna cites partnerships with optometrists and opticians, and a “customer-centric” focus, as the reason for Specsavers’ growth.

The company began in the United Kingdom 40 years ago. Now, more than 2,700 locations dot the globe, reaching 44 million patients and customers, by Specsavers’ count.

The corporation aims to attract one million Canadians to its stores by the end of 2025. It’s about halfway there, Magna said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com