CHICAGO-AREA PEARLE VISION CENTERS GET NEW OWNERS

Pearle Vision, one of North America’s largest and most trusted licensed optical brands, has signed two new agreements in the western suburbs of Chicago, changing formerly corporate-owned centers to licensed operations by local owners in Arlington Heights and Schaumburg. Both new owners are personally vested in the Pearle Vision brand, one having begun her relationship working with the brand as a teenager and the other having been on the receiving end of the brand’s philanthropic outreach.

The Arlington Heights location is now owned by Marianna Barsky, O.D., and her partner Steve Pelitsky, O.D.  Dr. Barsky has worked nearly her whole life with Pearle Vision. She started at the Norridge location when she was 16 years old, worked her way through optometry school and purchased the location in 2010.  Arlington Heights is the third location Dr. Barsky owns and in a potential replay of history, her daughter, a high school senior, is now working in that neighborhood eye care center.

The Schaumburg location, corporately-owned since 1996, is now owned by Amir Essani who has worked in the optical field in Atlanta for 12 years making glasses and then managing a variety of stores including LensCrafters, Target Optical and Costco Optical. Essani recently relocated to Chicago with his wife, a former teacher who managed high-end retail locations and who will be business manager of the Schaumburg Pearle Vision franchise. As a boy growing up in California with his Pakistani-born parents, Essani received his first pair of glasses from the Gift of Sight program, now called OneSight. Coming full circle, he’s passionate about giving back to others through OneSight, which is the philanthropic outreach of Pearle Vision’s parent company, Luxottica, to provide eye glasses to people in need across the globe.

“I guess I’m kind of living the American dream,” Essani said. “Since I received so richly, I really believe in giving back now. How appropriate that I can now do that from a Pearle Vision franchise location that I now own.”

The Arlington Heights store is located at 704 E. Rand Street.  The Schaumburg store is at 850 East Golf Road.      

Pearle Vision has a significant legacy in the industry, providing genuine eye care to patients through a doctor-centric business model. The franchise has continued to outpace competitors by evolving to meet patients' changing needs and providing quality products and services they desire. With more than 610 centers located throughout North America, the company offers best-in-class eye care provided by neighborhood doctors who are skilled optometrists, a principle created by Dr. Stanley Pearle in 1961.

Pearle Vision is now seeking to grow its national footprint and has identified development opportunities in markets from coast-to-coast. In addition to new territories available for development, corporate-owned locations in markets such as Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Florida and Washington also are available and have thriving operations with strong customer-bases.

To fuel its growth, the company is looking for optometrists interested in licensing opportunities. Ideal candidates for Pearle Vision ownership should possess a desire to join a trusted industry-leading brand and work within a proven system to provide exceptional eye care and superior patient service. Pearle Vision licensees can expect their initial investment to build a new center to cost approximately $200,000, in addition to a licensing fee of $30,000.

Optometrists interested in exploring re-licensing or new development opportunities should call 1.800.PEARLE.1 or visit www.ownapearlevision.com.