SPECSAVERS CO-FOUNDER DOUG PERKINS AWARDED CBE AT WINDSOR CASTLE CEREMONY
Doug Perkins, the Co-Founder and Chairman of Specsavers, has been formally invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire at a ceremony at Windsor Castle, marking official recognition of a business career that has reshaped the global optical and hearing care industry.
Mr Perkins received the honour for services to business and trade, following his inclusion in the King’s Birthday Honours list last summer. The investiture was conducted by the Princess Royal at the first ceremony of the year, held while the King and Queen were on their winter break in Scotland.
He was accompanied by his wife, Dame Mary Perkins, who was awarded her own honour in 2007 for services to business and charity in Guernsey. The couple were joined by their daughters, Cathryn and Julie. Their son, John Perkins, chief executive of Specsavers, was unable to attend owing to restrictions on numbers.
The ceremony also saw honours conferred on senior figures from across British public life, including Roisin Currie of Greggs, Rufus Norris, artistic director of the National Theatre, and Martha Kearney, a long-standing journalist with BBC Radio 4.
Reflecting on the occasion, Mr Perkins described the experience as memorable, noting the Princess Royal’s familiarity with the company following a recent visit to its manufacturing and distribution site in Kidderminster. “It was really fortuitous that the investiture was hosted by the Princess Royal as she is familiar with Specsavers,” he said. “She appeared genuinely interested in the work that we do in the community and understood about our joint venture business model.”
“The entire ceremony was so well organised considering the enormous number of people attending and I came away extremely motivated by our conversation,” he added.
Founded in 1984 by Doug and Dame Mary Perkins, Specsavers has grown into the world’s largest privately owned provider of eye and hearing care, serving millions of customers across Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. The group has become as well known for its disruptive approach to pricing and its long-running ‘Should’ve Gone to Specsavers’ advertising campaign as for its distinctive ownership structure.
Central to that growth has been a joint-venture model that was unusual in the optical sector when first introduced. Each Specsavers business is part-owned and managed by its local directors, supported by a global supply chain and central specialist teams providing marketing, IT and financial services. Today, the group comprises more than 1,000 businesses in the UK and over 3,000 worldwide.
Mr Perkins was keen to stress that the honour reflected the collective effort behind the brand rather than his own personal achievements. “This award isn’t really for me – it’s recognition of the 45,000 people who work for Specsavers and our ophthalmic surgery business Newmedica and their dedication to changing people’s lives through better sight and hearing,” he said.
“Together, we have achieved so much since we began the business more than 40 years ago from pretty humble beginnings and it’s really quite incredible that we are now offering our services to 48 million people as far afield as Canada and New Zealand, and have a robust supply chain that spans the world from the UK and Europe to Asia Pacific. None of that could have been achieved without loyal, hardworking, visionary colleagues and partners.”
Born in Llanelli, Wales, in 1943, Mr Perkins began working at a young age, holding a series of jobs that he has credited with instilling a strong work ethic and an early interest in healthcare and retail. He qualified as an optometrist in 1965, later founding an independent practice with Mary Bebbington, whom he met during his studies. After selling that business in 1980, the couple relocated to Guernsey, where Specsavers would ultimately be built into a global enterprise.
The company was later placed into a family trust to preserve its independence and prevent a sale to private equity, ensuring that it remains under Perkins family stewardship. With John Perkins now leading the business as chief executive and several of the founders’ grandchildren already involved, the group continues to position itself as a family-owned multinational with long-term ambitions.
