Larger premises, modern layout, and convenient location, now open in Newport City Centre

All eyes are on Specsavers in Newport as its new store on Austin Friars opens, after a £500,000 investment. The new 2,310 sq ft store, adjacent to Friars Walk, sees the business relocate from High Street, where it first opened in 1988.

Spanning two floors, the store has nine test rooms and four pre-screening booths as well as dedicated contact lens, low vision and audiology departments, complete with a soundproof booth.
The store has also replaced its traditional reception desks and staff will meet customers as they enter the store and register them for their appointment on a tablet device, creating a spacious environment to display the store’s 1,300 frames.

As part of the £500,000 investment, the store will also house a 3D camera, which takes a detailed picture of the back of an eye to closely monitor a person’s eye health. It is being used in conjunction with the Royal Gwent Hospital’s ophthalmology department so the store can co-manage customers with glaucoma.

Specsavers Newport currently employs 42 members of staff and it has appointed a retail manager to oversee the day-to-day running of the new store.

David Lewis is responsible for retail operations, customer service and staffing, joining the store with previous management experience from supermarket retailers and other optical providers. And a further five staff have been appointed to work in the Austin Friars store.

Jason Williams, store director of Specsavers in Newport, said: “At Specsavers, we pride ourselves on delivering the highest professional standards and customer service. While we have enjoyed a 27-year tenure on High Street, we needed a new premises to meet the growing demand for our optical and audiology services.

“We’re excited to open in a part of Newport that seen such significant investment in the last few years and, with the recent opening of Friars Walk, it‘s a real ‘go to’ area of the city.
“We look forward to welcoming our customers to our new home to see for themselves the improved services we’re offering from Austin Friars.”