Specsavers Audiology has announced its 100th joint venture partnership less than three years after it began embedding hearing services in its optical stores across Australia.
Audiologist Ms Rita Hou joined the network last week, taking over the Upper Mt Gravatt and Toowong stores in Queensland with business partner Mr Matthew Hogan.
Hou joins an expanding team, with Specsavers set to open the 160th Australian store with audiology services next month. That means almost half of its 350 optical locations have hearing care incorporated in them.
With degrees in speech pathology and audiology, as well as extensive experience within the healthcare sector, Hou was familiar with Specsavers as a customer before becoming a business partner.
“I was already a Specsavers optical customer long before Specsavers Audiology launched in Australia,” she said.
“I made my first enquiries in 2019, worked through the assessment, and started waiting for a preferred location to become available. My commencement got slightly held up due to the COVID-19 pandemic but I’m glad we are finally here,” she said.
Specsavers Audiology executive director and general manager Mr Darrel Magna said reaching the milestone was a proud moment.
“It’s a huge achievement to help 100 Australian audiology professionals start their own business, and to bring transparent and affordable hearing care to Australians all over the country,” he said.
“Our joint venture partnership model is proven across the Australian optometry sector, and we are continuing that success with audiology – with 100 partners providing audiology across 160 stores in Australia.”
Magna said that despite the challenging circumstances of 2020, Specsavers Audiology is planning to provide audiology services in at least 180 optical stores across Australia by the end of this year.
