LEGENDARY fashion mogul, Jeff Banks made a surprise appearance in Edinburgh at the weekend (Saturday 16 March) as he officially opened a brand-new, £750,000 opticians and audiologists in the capital.
The designer was invited to cut the ribbon at the recently relocated Specsavers Morningside store at 85 Morningside Road, alongside retail director Joe Alubaid, clinical director Michael O’Kane and audiology partner Jonathan Bell.
As well as running a week-long competition and giveaway on local radio station Forth One to celebrate the occasion, one lucky customer was also surprised with a Jeff Banks designer bundle in-store on the day.
It comes as Specsavers marks 15 years of helping people in Morningside with their eye and hearing care needs.
Joe Alubaid, retail director of Specsavers Morningside, says: ‘We were thrilled to welcome Jeff to officially open our new home at 85 Morningside Road, just as we pass our milestone 15-year anniversary.
‘This was a truly monumental moment for our team and our fantastic customers, and we can’t wait to share our new space with them for years to come.’
The store is a significant step-up from its previous home at 302 Morningside Road, with the number of testing rooms increased to seven in response to increased customer demand.
Positioned across two floors, the new offering includes a dedicated audiology room and a brand-new contact lens space.
State-of-the-art equipment has been installed throughout, including two Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) machines, as well as bigger, more spacious waiting areas and a reception to welcome customers ahead of their appointments.
Michael O’Kane, clinical director at Specsavers in Morningside, says: ‘Everything we have introduced in the new store has been in response to the needs of our growing customer base and the local community.
‘There is an ageing, yet independent and healthy population, in the south of Edinburgh, however age-related conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and hearing loss are all becoming more common.
‘What’s more, myopia (short sightedness) is also becoming more prevalent in children within the UK. That is why we have designed our new store specifically to address these emerging needs of our local community.
‘Timely diagnosis and treatment are essential, and so our increased testing capacity and state-of-the-art diagnostic machines will allow our expert team to quickly identify any problems that may be detected.
‘‘So many of our customers also come to us because of our extensive contact lens offering, including myopia control lens options at Specsavers’s prices.
‘Our new store will allow us to expand our contact lens support with the introduction of two new dedicated contact lens teaching areas, while we also have plans to introduce a dedicated contact lens optician into our practice alongside our experienced optometrists to provide our customers with even more support.’
Specsavers Morningside, located at 85 Morningside Road, is open from 9am – 6:30pm Monday to Thursday, 9am – 6pm Friday and Saturday and 10am – 6pm every Sunday.
To book an appointment, call the store directly on 0131 446 9960 for eye health specialists or 0131 672 9218 for hearing specialist, or visit:
www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/morningside.
Specsavers is celebrating 40 years of care this year and is now the largest privately-owned eye care and audiology company in the world with more than 2,500 businesses in 11 countries.
The company is committed to changing lives through better sight and hearing by making expert care accessible and affordable for everyone, and also offers a Home Visits service for those unable to travel to one of its 1,000 locally owned stores.
To learn more, visit: www.specsavers.co.uk