![]() ![]() The partners are generally credited with inventing one-hour eyeglasses services and with helping to pioneer the trend toward eyecare superstores. Like Pearle Vision, the Hillman-Kohan chain expanded during the late 1960s by innovating. Hillman, the son of an optician, had opened his first eyewear store, in 1966, at the age of 23. Importantly, Pearle was joined by two other industry innovators in 1971 -Robert Hillman and his partner Larry Kohan. In addition to building new outlets, he developed the company by purchasing other optical stores. ![]() Pearle added to his chain of Pearle Vision Centers at a rapid clip. “Before that, eyeglass wearers had only a few styles to choose from, and all the dispensing was done out of a small area in the optometrist ’s office. “My idea was to create modern-looking optical shops that combined top-quality service and products, convenient locations, expanded hours, competitive prices, and a better selection of eyewear styles, ” related Pearle. The move was profitable for Pearle, whose unique concept flourished. He was drawn to Savannah, Georgia, however, because he believed that the area offered greater opportunity. Pearle was still living in Texas at the time he decided to open his own shop. He worked at Lee for ten years before striking out on his own in 1958. In 1948, he joined Lee Optical as a junior partner. Navy during World War II before returning to private practice in Corpus Christi, Texas. Pearle started out in the optometry business, but his erratic career took several turns. Although I found out that I had passed the Pennsylvania State Board, I just never left Texas. So, I scrounged up $100 for expenses and a train ticket to Texas, took the state board exam, and passed. “A fellow optometrist suggested we both go to Texas where they announce the test results the next day. In those days, you had to wait two months before you knew whether you passed -an eternity for a young man waiting to start a career, ” Pearle recalled in company annals. “I went back to Philadelphia to take the Pennsylvania State Board of Optometry exam. He graduated in 1940 and headed back to Pennsylvania to take the optometry exam, but he ended up in Texas. Pearle was able to find a job, though, and later started optometry school in Chicago. Because of the severe recession at the time, he was unable to attend college. Pearle was born in Pittsburgh in 1918 and graduated from high school in 1936. But his was not an overnight success story. Pearle ’s innovative store was a hit, and he enjoyed immense growth and profits during the 1960s and 1970s. Pearle profited by providing both diagnostic and treatment services. The consumer benefited from not having to visit both an optometrist (eye doctor) and an optician (one that makes and sells eyeglasses and contact lenses). Thus, for the first time, a person could go into a store, get an eye exam and prescription, select a pair of glasses and pick up the finished glasses a few days later. The shop ’s distinguishing characteristic was that it offered comprehensive, one-stop eyecare: It combined complete eye exams with an extensive selection of eyewear and convenient store hours. Although the store was among many optical retail stores competing at the time, Pearle ’s shop was different and represented a major breakthrough in the eyecare industry. Stanley Pearle opened the first Pearle Vision Center in Savannah, Georgia. Pearle ’s rapid rise to leadership in the optical retail industry began in 1961, when Dr. After reaching a downswing in profits in the late 1980s, Pearle returned to profitability once it restructured its operations during the early 1990s. About half of those stores were franchised. outlets and about 180 stores in Canada, the Netherlands, and Belgium. In 1994 there were more than 900 Pearle Vision stores operating worldwide, including 720 U.S. Pearle Vision Inc., a subsidiary of British food conglomerate Grand Metropolitan pic, is one of the largest optical retailers in the world. Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Grand Metropolitan plc Incorporated: 1961 Employees: 4,000 Sales: $601 million SICs: 5955 Optical Goods Stores 6794 Patent Owners & Lessors
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |