A new website is offering glasses at bargain prices. Judith Woods reports
In the business world, there are few more evocative metaphors than that of David and Goliath; the single entrepreneur versus the might of the high street chains. Usually, the idealistic entrepreneur comes a cropper because he is mercilessly undercut by the superior buying power of the big boys – but not always.
Spectacular: hard-up student James Murray Wells became an internet entrepreneur
Aged 21, James Murray Wells is pitting himself against some of the best-known names in retailing. Running his company from a disused stable block in his parents' south Gloucestershire farmyard, the English graduate believes his mail order and internet company will revolutionise the way the British buy their spectacles.
By selling glasses at a fraction of the conventional price, Murray Wells's fledgling company, Glasses Direct, is competing head-to-head with such high-profile names as Specsavers, Vision Express and Dollond & Aitchison.
"People generally can't believe our Glasses Direct prices, but that's because the high street shops are maintaining retail prices at 10 to 20 times the cost price of the spectacles," he says.
It comes as no surprise to learn that most first-time visitors to Murray Wells's website are astonished at the prices. All standard glasses cost £15, including frame, prescription lenses, case, delivery and guarantee. Rimless glasses are £25 and the charge for bendable titanium frames, again including lens and delivery, is £35 - compared with £150 in many high street opticians.
"What I'm giving people is choice, and so far it looks as though they are delighted," he says. "An average pair of glasses is manufactured for less than £7, so I charge just over double. Even with advertising and overheads, I still make a profit."
The £7 figure Murray Wells quotes is astonishing, given the prices routinely charged by opticians. The major chains, he says, spend so much on their prime shop locations and chic fittings, they are obliged to ratchet up their prices to cover costs.
The dispensing optician who makes up his glasses also supplies a major player in the market – but Murray Wells is at pains not to say which, to protect his contract.
"When I started to do research into the cost of glasses, I was met with a wall of silence," he says. "I called eight different companies and they refused to tell me the manufacturing cost, because it is considered such sensitive information."
There are personal reasons why Murray Wells has set up Glasses Direct. While he was studying at the West of England University in Bristol, he discovered he needed spectacles for reading, so he visited his nearest high street optician. When he walked away with his new metal frames, he was £150 poorer.
"I was managing on a student loan and £150 was a fortune – half a month's rent. I just couldn't understand why my glasses were so expensive, and my curiosity led me to investigate further."
His phone calls to manufacturers proved fruitless, and his suspicions were aroused. Finally, just when he was giving up hope, one company agreed to divulge its price list, and, after negotiations, said it would supply him.
With no knowledge of business, Murray Wells sought advice from family friends, who were experienced and gave him support. His family and another backer also put up the capital needed to establish Glasses Direct, which began trading last month.
Seventy metal and rimless frames are available on the website – all of which can also be bought on the high street. But there are no designer names, and the styles are classic, rather than ultra-fashionable. Buyers fill in the details of their prescription on-screen. The information is sent to the factory, where the lenses are fitted and the spectacles sent out at no extra charge.
Most of Murray Wells's start-up costs have been for legal advice and advertising, and he has had 200,000 leaflets printed, which have been distributed throughout the Bristol area. Over the past four weeks, he has supplied spectacles to more than 400 customers. Word of mouth has been particularly crucial.
"People love talking about a bargain, and so they tell everyone they know. A lot of our customers so far have been elderly and have been so thrilled at the price, they are buying multiple pairs," he says. "I get thank-you letters all the time – I wonder how many of the big chains get that sort of feedback?"
Murray Wells is bullish about the future and is convinced his concept will be a winner. But, like a true businessman, he is briskly unsentimental.
"I've no idea how the high street chains will react to this. I see Glasses Direct going from strength to strength, until one of the big companies buys us out. Then I'll start another company."
# Glasses Direct, see glassesdirect.co.uk, or tel: 08456 88 20 20