AN OPTICIANS, with branches countywide, is set to revolutionise the hearing-aid market.
Specsavers Opticians has bought HearCare, a chain of hearing aid shops, for an undisclosed seven-figure sum.
The deal by Specsavers, which has branches in Worcester, Evesham, Bromsgrove and Kidderminster, will create 400 jobs over the next four years and will see the roll-out of 100 new private hearing aid centres.
The centres will retain the HearCare brand while mirroring Specsavers' successful joint venture business model, where local professional opticians own a percentage of the shares in the store.
"There is a severe lack of digital hearing aids available through the NHS as a result of the soaring costs of digital technology," said Doug Perkins, who founded Specsavers 20 years ago.
"However, with Specsavers' immense buying power, we can offer people a sophisticated, hi-tech product that is custom-made at an affordable price."
Specsavers has 464 stores and employs 9,000 people.
There are eight HearCare centres, employing 26 people.
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