A young football player wearing the number 12 on his jersey in green is flanked by an older woman on his left and an older man on his right, both of whom are smiling and wearing glasses.

Aging Population, Sustainable Demand Could Increase Opportunity for Medical Franchises

Pearle Vision Licensed Owners can provide needed medical services and products while leveraging sustainable demand from a growing population segment

One of the great things about the optical industry is that it pairs a frequently needed medical service with a retail revenue stream. That can help provide our Licensed Owners a unique opportunity to serve the same person in two different ways.

At Pearle Vision, we have worked to build a strong retail component for our EyeCare Centers while also earning the trust of consumers who love our brand because they know they can count on reputable, reliable care for their optical health needs.

“Pearle listens to the Licensed Owners who provide the goods and services, yet allows them to maintain autonomy,” says Bill Noble, founder of the West Point Optical Group, which owns more than 50 Pearle Vision EyeCare Centers. “I think that speaks to entrepreneurs. I think it’s a recipe for success.”

Our services are especially important to the growing 65-and-older demographic, whose need for vision care often increases as they age, since untreated problems can sometimes lead to vision loss. Preventative eye exams can mean early detection of diseases such as glaucoma and can help doctors and patients create treatment plans. Our cost efficiencies and working relationships with insurance carriers are designed to create convenience for patients and help our Licensed Owners attract more business.

A medical franchise is a calling

For many, providing medical care is a calling, and Pearle Vision allows optometrists a means to flex their entrepreneurial muscles while still being able to remain directly involved in patient care. Franchises like ours also allow people with no medical training an opportunity to provide meaningful care to others by hiring licensed opticians and optometrists to take care of patients while they attend to growing the business.

Pearle Vision has a scalable business business model that can be much simpler in some respects when compared to other medical franchises like home health care. Both types of businesses provide valuable and much-needed services, particularly to aging Baby Boomers. Some 56 million Americans will be age 65 or older by 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau – and an aging population needs to be ever more vigilant about eye health. That can mean growing, sustainable demand for the services and products Licensed Owners can provide.

Our EyeCare Centers are designed to run more efficiently

Of course, Pearle Vision works with patients and customers of all ages, and we strive to be the eye care provider of choice in the neighborhoods where we operate. Part of our promise to Licensed Owners is to provide the support they need to focus on their patients and build lasting relationships with the people in their communities. Our brand name is a great start for the optometrists and opticians who invest in Pearle Vision – we’ve been around since 1961, and we’ve earned our reputation as a brand consumers know and trust.

A silver-haired woman in glasses smiles toward the camera; her husband is visible in the foreground and her son in the background in a football uniform.
People aged 65 and over tend to have more vision health care needs as they age, and Pearle Vision is there to provide those services to them.

But the labor model for home health care is quite complex, involving hiring rosters of people with varying degrees of medical licensure and expertise. Pearle Vision’s staffing can be much more streamlined, with optometry professionals providing services on location or at an adjacent office while other employees provide retail or administrative services.

Home health care franchises also have to coordinate the transportation logistics of providing care over specific geographic areas. Pearle Vision’s convenient retail locations are logistically simpler for our Licensed Owners, since patients and customers come to you.

Our royalty structure is designed to help you maximize revenue

Another advantage of owning your own Pearle Vision EyeCare Center: No royalties are taken from the medical/exam portion of the business, just the retail side. And having such a strong retail component diversifies your business, which can help provide another advantage over home health and similar industries. You’ll be engaged in a nearly $40 billion optical industry, which is projected to continue growing thanks to those growing demographics.

Pearle Vision EyeCare Centers owned by optometrists generated average revenues of $1.1 million last year, with an estimated 76% of that revenue coming from the retail portion of the business, according to our 2017 Franchise Disclosure Document.

“I think if you’re interested in owning your own practice, having that Pearle Vision name, having all those resources and tools they give you to succeed, that’s huge,” says Sara Nicholson, OD, a Licensed Owner in Racine, WI.

Learn more about Pearle Vision®

To learn more about what makes Pearle Vision a viable medical franchise for all our Licensed Owners, please fill out the form on this page to request more information. We’re happy to answer your questions about the brand.

This article is not intended as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a franchise. Within the U.S.A., we offer franchises solely by means of our Franchise Disclosure Document. Certain states in the U.S.A. and certain other countries have laws governing the offer and sale of franchises. If you are a resident of one of these states or countries, we will not offer you a franchise unless and until we have complied with applicable franchise investment law requirements in your jurisdiction.

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