Revamped Black & Lizars opticians seeks to make a spectacle of its stores

Edinburgh-based 442 Design has been hired to create a modern concept for the company.

A store opened on George Street in the capital before Christmas with the new look and the Milngavie outlet has also been revamped. The new image will now be rolled out across the chain.

The brand was created in 1999 following the merger of two of Scotland's oldest optical retailers: Lizars and C Jeffrey Black.

The Govan-headquartered firm now has 23 stores and about 250 employees.

Trevor Rowley, an optometrist and managing director of Black & Lizars, said: "The firm has grown through a number of acquisitions over the years and there was no common look and feel. We want customers to walk into one of our stores and know it's Black & Lizars, in the same way as you just know when you go into a Boots or Marks & Spencer. At the moment we don't have that."

David Dunn, managing director of 442, said: "The aim was to move away from the clinical 'white box' look common in high-street opticians, and appeal to a more style-conscious client. The overall look is more akin to a high-end fashion retail experience."

Rowley became managing director of Black & Lizars last March when he was brought in to help get the firm back on track following a period of change.

In April 2008 it was bought by a European investment consortium, led by London-based international optical retail entrepreneur Majid Sadjadi, in a deal believed to be worth around 20 million. Prior to the deal, it had been Scotland's biggest independent optical retail firm. Its pre-tax profits dropped to 956,342 for the year ending 30 September 2008, compared with 1.2m in 2007.

In March 2009, Black & Lizars returned to being an independent, privately owned company. Rowley said: "We introduced a more professionally managed approach. We identified that the business lacked direction and focus and needed investment in the shops."

Just under 500,000 has been spent on the George Street and Milngavie stores, paid from the firm's cash flow without any borrowing, and similar amounts will be spent on the rest of the outlets.

But one of the first things Rowley did when he joined was to shut the Black & Lizars branch within Royal Bank of Scotland's headquarters at Gogarburn, which had been opened in 2007. He said: "It was not a clever decision to open the store, so shutting it was almost a no-brainer."

Rowley explained that in Scotland, in contrast to England and Wales, free eye tests are available to the entire population. However, as the Gogarburn store was restricted to RBS employees it had to charge for eye tests so there was no incentive for staff to use it. Rowley said Black & Lizars will focus on developing its market in Scotland and, if it identifies the need for new outlets, will look at opening stores. He said: "We're very proud of our Scottish roots."