OPTICAL retail chain Specsavers has spent £400,000 on relocating its Newtownards store from High Street to Conway Square.
It had been providing eye care to the community at High Street for 16 years, but has now expanded into bigger and more modern premises housing a new lab and testing equipment and new testing rooms.
The store also has a new layout, which replaces traditional reception desks with mobile, standing or seated service points and customers greeted and registered on tablets.
Newtownards store director Leigh Nelson said: "Business in the town has been growing steadily and this significant investment has allowed us to provide a brand-new facility for eye care for our local patients, including an expansive new range of frames and sports accessories.
‘The larger space enables us to have an audiologist in store one day a week. We also have an audiology assistant here in store full time to help customers."
Some 22 staff are already employed at the store, but with the move and expansion, two new optometrists have been recruited.
Lambert Smith Hampton are retained to act on behalf of Specsavers across Northern Ireland and have been working with the business for a number of years.
Agency director Ryan Kee said: “Over the past 18 months, Specsavers has relocated and upsized a number of their stores to support the expansion of the firm’s services.
"The move to Conway Square is a positive step for the growth of the business and will give the brand a greater presence in the town. We’re actively working with a number of other Specsavers stores to help identify vacant premises that support their needs for growth.”
