Franchisee eyes opticians empire in Nottingham

The owner of a new opticians business which has opened on Friar Lane says he wants to expand to open new franchises in Nottingham over the next few years.

Indy Atwal has set up CrossEyes, a Danish franchise that says it is built on “honesty, transparency and smart design”.

The store at 32 Friar Lane, which had been vacant for about a year, has had a full fit-out and includes a reception area with retail space and private eye testing room.

Owner Indy Atwal, said: “I’m over the moon that I have a store in central Nottingham and with the help of Fraser Brown we moved in at the end of last month.

“I’m Leicester based but always wanted my first store to be in Nottingham. Its strong retail offer and high levels of foot traffic around the city centre is what brought me here and I also hope to live in the city in due course.

“As I’ve been an optician for a number of years, I’ve always had a passion for stylish, well-made glasses and the highest levels of customer service. I wanted to open my own practice and as soon as I discovered the CrossEyes brand I knew it was for me as they were doing it differently; by taking out the pricing guesswork that many customers experience at traditional opticians.”

Nottingham law firm Fraser Brown worked with Atwal, providing real estate advice to secure the lease of the premises as well as franchise guidance.

Atwal added: “I made the decision to open my own CrossEyes store so I started the ball rolling. I quickly found that opening a franchise can be a complex exercise but Fraser Brown’s Fiona Boswell’s sound advice helped me navigate the process.

“CrossEyes is a great concept and a cornerstone of that concept is that our customers always get their money’s worth. There are no extra costs or fees and our glasses are always the same high quality.

“We’ve already had great feedback from the people of Nottingham and I look forward to meeting many more new customers.”

Atwal, who has been an optician for over five years, will be based in the store and is currently looking to hire a retail manager. He says he has plans for growth with further stores planned for outside of the city centre over the next few years.

Fiona Boswell, head of franchising and commercial services at Fraser Brown, said: “CrossEyes is a vibrant brand and I think it will be very well received in Nottingham.

“Indy is passionate about what he does and has a clear vision of what he wants to offer and that stands him in good stead to run his own successful business. It has taken a great deal of work to get the new store open and it looks fantastic – fresh and stylish.

“My colleague James Woodward who helped to secure the lease, and I, wish Indy all the best and look forward to working with him on the next store.”