Pearle Vision

Founded: 1961 Franchising since: 1980
In 1961, Dr. Stanley Pearle began the concept of one-stop, total eye care with the opening of the Pearle Vision Center in Savannah, Georgia. There he combined complete eye exams with an extensive selection of eyewear. Today, there are nearly 850 Pearle Vision locations in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. In 1996, Pearle Vision became a subsidiary of Cole National Corp., an optical company.

4000 Luxottica Pl. Mason, Ohio 45040

Phone: (800)732-7531/ (513)765-3327 Franchisee Association National FAC

Franchisor is a publicly-held company with 600 employee(s); 27 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2009	387	0	0	416
2008	402	0	0	496
2007	417	0	0	499
2006	429	1	0	456
2005	502	0	0	333

Where Seeking Franchisees
In the U.S. Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North carolina, North dakota, New hampshire, New jersey, New mexico, Nevada, New york, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode island, South carolina, South dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West virginia, Wyoming

Special Programs
Pearle is involved with several charities, including the Pearle Vision Foundation and Prevent Blindness America, both dedicated to fighting blindness, and New Eyes for the Needy Inc., which works to provide better vision for poor people worldwide.

Total investment: $108.6K-492.4K Franchise fee: $10K-30K

Ongoing royalty fee: 7% Term of agreement: 10 years (co-terminus w/lease), renewable

Type of Financing Available

	In-House	Third Party
Franchise Fee	No	Yes
Startup Costs	No	Yes
Equipment	No	Yes
Inventory	Yes	Yes
Accounts Receivable	No	Yes
Payroll	No	Yes

Third-party financing source(s): Wells Fargo, Comerica, CIT Funding

Qualifications
Net worth requirement: $200K
Cash liquidity requirement: $75K-100K
Business Experience:

• Industry experience
• General business experience
• Industry experience not always necessary; depends on business acumen and financial condition

Operations

• 55% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 6
• Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (97% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Available at headquarters: 1 week
• At franchisee's location: 1 week
• At company-owned location (optional) : 1 week

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Grand opening
• Internet
• Security/safety procedures
• Field operations/evaluations
• Purchasing cooperatives

Marketing Support

• Co-op advertising
• Ad slicks
• National media
• Regional advertising

Other marketing support

• National TV, national FSI's in newspapers on Sunday

Franchise 500® rank:
#104 (2008); #94 (2007); #139 (2006); #71 (2005);

Ranked #1 in category in:
2008; 2007; 2006;

America's Top Global Franchises:
#66 (2005);