Specsavers co-founder Doug Perkins receives CBE
Specsavers co-founder and chairman Doug Perkins has been formally presented with his Commander of the British Empire honour by the Princess Royal during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.
He was recognised with the CBE for services to business and trade and listed in the King’s Birthday Honours List last summer.
Subscribe to TRBPerkins was accompanied to the ceremony by his wife and fellow co-founder, Dame Mary Perkins, who received her own honour from the late Queen in 2007. They were joined by their two daughters, Cathryn and Julie, although John, who is Specsavers’ chief executive, was unable to attend as numbers were restricted.
Dressed in her naval uniform, Princess Anne also presented awards to Greggs chief executive Roisin Currie, artistic director of the National Theatre Rufus Norris, and BBC Radio 4 journalist Martha Kearney.
Speaking of the experience, Perkins said: “It was really fortuitous that the investiture was hosted by the Princess Royal as she is familiar with Specsavers, having visited our manufacturing and distribution site in Kidderminster recently.
“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.”
Founded in 1984, Specsavers has grown to become the world’s largest privately owned provider of eye and hearing care. The company has achieved global recognition for its iconic “Should’ve Gone to Specsavers” strapline and its distinctive, humour-led marketing.
Born in Llanelli, Wales, in 1943, Perkins was the son of a police sergeant and a farmer’s daughter. He qualified as an optometrist at 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 relocating to the island of Guernsey to be closer to Mary’s parents following their retirement there.
Perkins continues to attend the Specsavers Guernsey office daily and travels extensively, supporting both the growth of the business and the wider optical industry.
Perkins added: “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.
“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.”
