PALM SPRINGS, Fla.—My Eyelab, a unit of Vision Precision Holdings, announced that it has reached an agreement that will pave the way for the opening of 18 franchise locations across the Atlanta metro area beginning in September.
The Atlanta stores are part of a previously announced commitment from franchisees to open 18 new My Eyelab locations through the rest of this year, as dba reported in June. At that time, the company noted that it would be focusing franchise growth in four priority markets: Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas.
The first of the 18 Atlanta-area locations is scheduled to open Sept. 21, according to My Eyelab’s announcement.
The first franchise unit in Texas has opened in Mesquite, Texas. It is the company’s first My Eyelab location in Texas. A second My Eyelab location is planned for the Dallas market and is scheduled to open later this year.
In Atlanta, the franchising operation will be led by co-owners and principals Mehboob Panjwani and Shiraz Attawala, according to My Eyelab. Panjwani, who has more than 15 years of retail and franchise expertise from stints with Dunkin Donuts and Marcos Pizza, has three decades of accounting and finance experience. Attawala has diverse experience in finance and operations for wholesale and retail jewelry stores, convenience stores and petroleum providers, according to the announcement.
“When we began to investigate franchise opportunities, we determined that My Eyelab’s strategic vision aligned well with our desire for a scalable and sustainable business model,” Attawala said in the My Eyelab announcement. “The multi-unit agreement, aided by My Eyelab’s strategic training and support, will allow us to provide consistent service, quality eyeglasses and expert eyecare services to the people of Greater Atlanta.”
The Atlanta agreement and new management team “represents a major step for the franchise brand, with Atlanta being the beneficiary of our one-of-kind services,” My Eyelab co-founder and chief executive officer Daniel Stanton said in the announcement.
“Between our intelligent, technology-based approach to eyecare, and our dedication to continuous innovation, the My Eyelab optical business model is unlike any other,” Stanton said.
Franchising since 2016, My Eyelab offers single and multi-unit franchise options, with an initial franchise fee of $24,900, a $200,000 liquid cash investment, and $500,000 minimum net worth requirement for interested prospects, according to the announcement.
Vision Precision Holdings, which also owns Stanton Optical, was ranked as the 18th largest optical retailer in the U.S. market in the Vision Monday Top 50 U.S. Retailer report published in May.