Scotland’s local optometrist and hearing care specialist, Duncan and Todd Group, has marked its 50th anniversary with a multi-million pound investment into a new manufacturing lab and the acquisition of five branches across the country.
As it celebrates the milestone birthday, the group is now looking for further acquisition targets.
Duncan and Todd Group was founded in 1972 by Norman Duncan and Stewart Todd, who opened their first branch in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire with the aim of providing a professional local eyecare service.
Now led by managing director Frances Rus, the Group has expanded significantly across Aberdeenshire and beyond over the years and boasts more than 40 branches.
It has recently acquired a number of independent opticians, including Eyewise Optometrists on Banchory’s High Street, Pitlochry Opticians, G A Henderson Optometrist in Thurso and The Spectacle Company in Stonehaven and Montrose.
It has also taken on patients registered at Gibson Opticians on Rosemount Viaduct in Aberdeen, which closed due to retirement.
The acquisition of nine practices from Black & Lizars in 2019 bolstered Duncan and Todd’s reach across Scotland, from the Borders and central belt to the Highlands and Islands.
Duncan and Todd Group trades as 20 20 Opticians south of Tayside and as Duncan and Todd in the north, as well as retaining names which are well known locally, such as JM MacDonald in the Highlands.
Over the past few years, the group has invested in hearing care and also offers this service across Scotland, with free hearing tests and supply, fitting and tuning of a comprehensive range of hearing aids, including digital aids.
The new lab – which is expected to open in Dyce, Aberdeen, later in the year – represents a major investment in new premises for the group’s manufacturing arm Caledonian Optical and the very latest equipment for manufacturing bespoke lenses for customers.
Frances Rus said the 50th anniversary was a significant milestone as the group continues to grow.
“Reaching our 50th birthday is a huge milestone and Duncan and Todd Group is almost unrecognisable from the early days with just one branch in Peterhead,” she said.
“However, the values that we held at that time still exist today and we pride ourselves on providing an accessible, personalised, quality service in high streets of towns and cities across the country.
“As we enter a new decade for Duncan and Todd we have made a number of strategic acquisitions and have invested heavily in the new lab which will increase our capacity to manufacture lenses for our branches and clients across the UK.
“We have also opened new shops, completed refurbishments and added to the breadth of services we offer. Bringing small independents into the bigger Duncan and Todd family has allowed us to offer a much wider range of services to our patients, particularly hearing care.”
She added: “We are always looking for opportunities for new acquisitions and are looking at options as part of our plans for continued expansion. As we prepare to open our new lab later in the year, this is an exciting time for the group as we celebrate our 50th birthday.”
Eyewise Optometrists in Banchory is now trading as Duncan and Todd, with staff and patients transferring to the Group.
The Spectacle Company practice on Montrose’s High Street is continuing to operate as usual, while the existing Duncan and Todd branch on Market Square has moved to the larger Spectacle Company premises on Barclay Street.
Both are trading as Duncan and Todd Opticians and members of the teamstaff, most of whom have at least 10 years of service, have transferred to Duncan and Todd Group.
The 20 20 Opticians in Perth and Pitlochry Opticians moved to a new city centre store at 6 Kinnoull Street, Perth, following a goodwill purchase. The owner of Pitlochry Opticians, Belinda Redden, decided to retire after a career in optometry spanning 40 years. The brands have merged and are also now trading as Duncan and Todd Opticians.
G A Henderson Optometrist, which was established in Thurso in 1984, is the most recent acquisition. Director Graham Henderson is to retire but will continue to work with Duncan and Todd as an optometrist over the next few months while a new optometrist is recruited. The branch remains on Sir George's Street but also now trades as Duncan and Todd Opticians.
As well as Caledonian Optical, the group operates Smart Employee Eyecare (SEE), a corporate eye care offering which provides a simple web-based service to satisfy a company’s legal HSE compliance requirements for employees’ eye care to large public and private sector clients.
For more information, visit https://www.duncanandtodd.com