Their large selection of eyewear, merchandising specials, and the promise of new glasses without a long wait both shaped and catered to consumer demand.īy the late 1980s, a growing number of new optometrists were opting not to start their own private practice. While optical retail chains accounted for only about 19 percent of the market, which was still dominated by independent optometrists, they were becoming some of the most successful businesses in the country thanks to advertising via television, radio, newspaper, and direct mail competitive service and the convenience they offered. Each of its stores had up to three doctors working at any time, examination rooms, a frame selection area, and a lens grinding laboratory. The merchandising phenomenon went from ground zero at the start of the decade to become the fastest growing segment of the $8-billion-plus retail eye care industry by the late 1980s.īy 1988, Eye Care Centers, along with LensCrafters and Pearle Vision, had become one of the largest optical superchains in the nation. What once was a quasi-medical enterprise, the prescribing, grinding, and fitting of eyeglasses, became a service and product-oriented business almost overnight. Coupled with a variety of new trends, such as advances in eyewear technology, the increased popularity of fashion eyeglass frames, and the fact that baby boomers were beginning to turn 40-the age at which many people began requiring glasses for reading and driving-the optical superstore was born. In the second, the Federal Trade Commission stated that optometrists had to give patients copies of their eyeglass prescriptions, allowing patients the freedom to shop for frames wherever they chose. Supreme Court decided that professionals had the freedom to advertise their practices. In 1974, two rulings had led to significant change in the nation's eye care industry. In purchasing Eye Care Centers, Sears opted to take advantage of the move toward growth throughout the 1980s for optical superstores nationwide. The company no longer traded publicly after the purchase. Over objections and lawsuits filed by two of Eye Care Centers' stockholders, Sears bought the optical chain for $52.5 million. At the time of the purchase, Sears already had optical departments in about 600 of its 813 department stores. in late 1987 as part of the larger company's strategy of shoring up its mature merchandising operations by buying fast-growing specialty stores. Then, in a turn of events, Eye Care Centers was itself purchased by Chicago-based Sears, Roebuck & Co. When it acquired EyeMasters of Baton Rouge around the close of the year, the company's properties exceeded 40 stores located in Arizona, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas.
EYE PRO EXPRESS PRO
With the addition of 20/20 and the opening of several new EYE PRO stores, Eye Care Centers became a chain of close to 30 stores.
Proceeds from the sale of Eye Care Centers' stock went toward acquiring or opening additional stores, and in the early fall of 1986 Eye Care Centers purchased a second chain of stores, 20/20 Eye Care Inc.
After an initial public offering of 1.1 million shares mid-year, the company began trading as IPRO on the NASDAQ. Gunion serving as president and chief executive officer. By 1986, Eye Care Centers of America operated 13 optical department stores in Texas and Louisiana under the name EYE PRO Express, Jack V. In 1984, an investment group headed by Robert Schumacher founded the San Antonio-based Eye Care Centers of America. Stores are located primarily in the Southwest, Midwest, and Southeast, along the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coasts, and in the Pacific Northwest regions of the United States. Each is a leader in eye care service in its respective market. Bizer's ValuVision, Doctor's ValuVision, Hour Eyes, Stein Optical, Eye DRx, and Binyon's.
It operates or manages more than 375 retail stores in 32 states and the District of Columbia using 11 stores names, including EyeMasters, Visionworks, Vision World, Doctor's VisionWorks, Dr.
is one of the largest optical retail chains in the United States.
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