CBE for Specsavers co-founder
Doug Perkins CBE
The co-founder and chair of Specsavers, Doug Perkins, has been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by His Majesty King Charles in this year’s Kings Birthday Honours List, for his services to business and trade.
“I can’t tell you how honoured I feel to receive this award for services to business as I have dedicated my entire career to helping people to see and hear more clearly,” said Doug. “But more importantly, this is recognition for the 45,000 people around the world who work for Specsavers and for our ophthalmic surgery business Newmedica and their dedication to changing people’s lives through better sight and hearing.
“Together, we have achieved so much since we started this business more than 40 years ago from pretty humble beginnings and it’s really quite incredible that we are now offering our services to more than 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. My wife Mary and I recognised from the very beginning, when we started the business together, that we needed to surround ourselves with people with the right skills to propel as forward if we were to achieve our goals of offering value for money and experts who truly care.”
Born in Llanelli, Wales, in 1943, the son of a police sergeant and a farmer’s daughter, Doug worked as an errand boy, laundry delivery driver and assistant at a local chemist. He credited this experience as instilling in him the value of hard work and inspiring in him a passion for healthcare and retail.
Doug qualified as an optometrist from Cardiff College of Advanced Technology in 1965 where he met Mary Bebbington. Together they founded Bebbington and Perkins Opticians, which they sold in 1980 before moving to the island of Guernsey to be closer to Mary’s parents, who had retired there.
The company remains in trust as a family business, with son John Perkins as CEO and four of their seven grandchildren involved in the organisation.
Dame Mary Perkins was the first female optometrist in the UK to receive the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2007, for services to business and to the community in Guernsey.