IN BRIEF
AMBITIOUS YOUNG
DIRECTORS LAUNCH NEW
SPECSAVERS’ IN UPTON THE PAUL LAVELLE
FOUNDATION HEALTH &
WELLBEING EVENT
New optical and audiology services at Sainsbury’s in
Upton have launched with a special ribbon cutting event
and a VIP guest. The Paul Lavelle Foundation hosted a men’s health & well-
being event on International Men’s Day, 19th November
to celebrate men’s health & well-being and inspirational
males.
Founder of Specsavers, Dame Mary Perkins, flew into the region
from the company’s support office in Guernsey especially to
open Merseyside’s second Specsavers store within a Sainsbury’s
supermarket. The new store has benefitted from a £600k investment
and staff working at the store bring a combined 75 years’ professional
experience.
The store also marks an important milestone in a career journey
for store directors Felicity Roberts and James McNeely, who will be
running the new Upton Specsavers store. Felicity started her career at
the Birkenhead Specsavers store when she was just 15 and a pupil at
West Kirby Grammar, joining as a Saturday girl and quickly moving
up the ranks. She is now director at both Birkenhead and Upton.
Felicity says: ‘I feel so lucky to be director of two Specsavers stores.
I am incredibly passionate about optics and audiology and I also
really enjoy building the careers of our new starters. Specsavers offers
lots of career progression, and it’s amazing to help members of staff
develop and grow.’
Also leading both stores with Felicity is optical director James
McNeely, 35. James’ optical career journey also started at Specsavers
in Birkenhead as a summer student in 2011 and he gradually trained
up to be a qualified optician. And 18 months ago he secured a role as
optical director in Birkenhead.
James said: ‘I am looking forward to working with Felicity to make
both stores successful, and also creating a professional and friendly
environment for both staff and customers.’
Ken Roberts, who has been a director at the Birkenhead store for 27
years, says: ‘It was clear very quickly to me that Felicity and James
were the perfect team to run both the Birkenhead and Upton stores.
They are both results driven and have a real passion for making a
difference in their local community.’
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The event, supported by Involve North West at Royal Standard House,
was held to combat the stigma attached to males speaking out about
mental and physical health concerns and to raise awareness of the local
men’s support services available on Wirral to help them.
The event was supported by EFC ambassador Ian Snodin and
there were a run of speakers. Daniel Bourne of Catalyst Develops
Optimisation, Jess Gallier of The Gallier Project, Lee Marks, author
of ‘Break the Silence’ a male guide to domestic abuse, Jane of Wirral
Reiki Rooms, JourneyMEN – Wirral, Broudie Jackson Canter and
Morecrofts Solicitors. Jamie Yates and Tommy Quirk were two
courageous, inspirational males who told about their battles with
adversity and how they turned their lives around.
As well as enhancing optical services for local people, the new Upton store
will significantly boost audiology services, something that is very much
needed in the region.
Specsavers founder, Dame Mary Perkins said: ‘The Upton store has a
strong team in place - we are really confident it will be a great success’.
As well as sight and hearing tests, the new store will provide a wide range
of optical and audiology services and is equipped with four test rooms as
well as a sound-proofed audiology booth.
The store also boasts OCT (optical coherence tomography), eye scanning
equipment that is usually only found in hospitals. OCT technology
produces a detailed scan of the eye, enabling early detection of eye
diseases. The store stocks a wide selection of designer frames including
Hugo Boss, Marc Jacobs, Balmain and Love Moschino.
To find out more or book an appointment at Specsavers in Upton, visit:
https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/upton or call: 0151 559 1226