Phil Matthews, co-owner of the Matthews Eyewear Eyecare group and his team in Nelson

Matthews Eyewear Eyecare has acquired its tenth practice and its first in Auckland, with the purchase of Epsom Eyecare.

Matthews bought Epsom Eyecare from Andrew Wilmott, formerly director of Specsavers Botany, who had to return to the UK for personal reasons just six months after acquiring the centrally-located Auckland practice from optometrist Jyotika Lal (see NZ Optics’ March 2017 issue). Wilmott preferred not to comment on the sale, but Lal confirmed she will be returning to Epsom as an optometrist for the new Matthews’ store, after Epsom Eyecare is rebranded.

The acquisitions don’t end there, however, with Matthew’s marketing manager Pete Harris saying the group expects to own 14 practices in total by the end of the October. “Every practice is tailormade, allowing an individualised approach for our customers and the choice of exclusive frames that bigger multiples just cannot offer,” says Harris. “We won’t offer free eye exams and we won’t do short appointments.” It’s this personalised approach that is the key to the group’s continuing success, he adds.  

The company’s “tight-knit team” based at its head office in Nelson, uses “targeted and streamlined marketing strategies” such as its new entrant visual screening programme for schools, says Harris, which it will soon roll out across the country in collaboration with dispensing optician Steph Cawte from Poppet Optics.

The Matthews group was founded by Phil and Lynley Matthews as a group of practices in the Nelson region and this year celebrates its 60th birthday.