The Theatre of Optical Retail at 20-20
A wall-sized eye chart at 20-20 reads 'SEEING THINGS DIFFERENTLY'. It's a message that can't be missed, even by the visually impaired—the shop's café, concert stage and Cuban background music are all good clues that this isn't your average optician's.
The new 20-20 Optical Store, which opened in April, is technically a branch of the 20/20 on Piccadilly. But the Tottenham Court Road version bears little resemblance to its more traditional sibling. The eye-dazzling décor, regular free concerts and high-fashion image all rise from one underlying goal: to do away with what owner Stephen Isaacs calls the 'doctor will see you now' stigma.
'When people come into an optician's, they're often nervous and filled with questions', says Isaacs. '"Will it hurt? Will I make a fool of myself? Am I going blind?' We wanted to get away from that clinical feeling"'.
To accomplish this, 20-20 have gone to great lengths. The shop is light-filled and spacious, and more resembles the Purves & Purves furniture show room next door than a typical optician's. All the doctors are hidden away in the basement, while assistants with names like Sascha and Zoran flit about the shop floor, ready to answer questions.
'This is the theatre of retail', Isaacs announces, leading the way past a large framed Mona Lisa. 'We have fashion, we have food, we have music, the whole show'.
This theatre's target audience is obviously the young, trendy crowd. 20-20's average customer is 27, about half the age of Boots Opticians' clientele. Fashion takes centre stage: Chanel, Donna Karan and Dolce & Gabbana are among the dozen or so names that gleam from blue signs above the racks.
Prices are about what you'd expect—£145 for a pair of red Diesels, £175 for tortoise-shell Calvin Kleins, £245 for classic black Versaces. A few small-name specs go for around £80, while the gold Freds in the glass case are £725.
Oh, and if you're here to get your eyes checked, the doctor will see you now.
Behind 20-20's light, trendy image is some heavy, state-of-the-art machinery. The shop is the first in the UK to use a new imaging system called Optomap. Instead of the usual optician's procedure—dilating your pupils and jotting down diagrams on paper—Optomap bounces tiny light beams all around the retina. The result is a clear, detailed computer image of your eye, revealing the tiniest tumours and retinal tears, all without dilation.
'This technology really is incredible', murmurs 20-20 optician Vanessa Ho-Yan, peering into the veins and nerves of an Optomap image. 'You see all these areas around the edges? We had no way to even look into those parts of the eye until now'.
20-20 eye examinations cost £23.50, an amount that includes vision tests, Optomap exam and contact lens fitting. A new 'Ultralase' centre is also being set up for laser eye surgery. Customers will then be able to finish their examinations with three options: laser surgery, contact lenses or designer glasses frames.
With its high-tech equipment and high-fashion image, 20-20 may seem poised to corner the optical market in central London. But other opticians insist they are unperturbed by the new shop's grand entrance.
'Nowadays, people like to shop around', says Steve Patel, manager of Opera Opera, a small optician across the street. 'They may start out at 20-20, but then they come over here and find the same frames for a lower price. That works out to be quite good for us'.
Opera Opera, with its dingy red 'OPTICIANS' sign, looks about 100 years older than 20-20. An optician's has in fact stood on that spot since 1905, eighty years before Opera Opera took over.
While the shop looks small and old-fashioned, its frame selection is up-to-date. Among its specialities are Air Titaniums, a brand of sleek and lightweight specs put together without screws. An eye-catching rack displays a line of handmade rainbow-coloured Danish frames. Opera Opera also carries several of the same designer names found at 20-20.
'We have a different philosophy from those bigger stores', says Patel. 'We keep our prices low, and we have loyal clients who send us referrals year after year'.
Maybe so. But when it comes to the theatre of optical retail, there's no venue in town that can compete with 20-20.
—Jennie Rothenberg
20-20 Optical Store
216-217 Tottenham Court Road, W1 (020 7596 2020). Goodge Street tube. Open 9am-8pm Mon-Sat; 12pm-6pm Sun. Credit AmEx, MC, V.Opera Opera
38 Tottenham Court Road, W1 (020 7636 1727). Goodge Street tube. Open 10am-6pm Mon-Wed, Fri; 10am-7pm Thurs. Credit MC, V.
