The team at National Vision's new location in Deerfield Beach are (l to r) Nosline Joseph, Eyeglass Manager, and Andrew Schuster, General Manager.
 
DULUTH, Ga.—National Vision Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: EYE) hit a milestone late last month with the opening of its 1,200 optical location. The new store in Deerfield Beach, Fla. operates under the America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses banner, a store group that represents almost two-thirds of the company’s aggregate volume. America’s Best operates more than 750 stores across 32 states, according to a recent company presentation. “In the 15 years since we bought America’s Best and the 11 years since we bought Eyeglass World we have opened hundreds of new stores,” chief executive officer Reade Fahs told VMAIL in a note.

“Last week, we celebrated the opening of our 1,200th store—an America’s Best in Deerfield Beach, Fla. That’s thousands of jobs created, millions of eye exams performed, and hundreds of millions of dollars saved by our beloved patients and customers on eyeglasses and contact lenses. But, we remain forever conscious that our success rests solely on the daily service of our dedicated network of optometrists and our associates who made this milestone possible.”

In its August presentation to investors, National Vision noted that it expects to spend about $65 million to $75 million this year on capital expenditures, with plans to open between 50 and 55 new stores in 2020.

In addition to the America’s Best banner group, National Vision operates Eyeglass World, Vision Centers inside select Walmart stores, Vista Opticals inside select Fred Meyer stores and on select military bases, and several e-commerce websites. It ranked as the No. 4 optical retailer on the most recent Vision Monday’s Top 50 annual report, with annual sales in 2019 of $1.72 billion.

National Vision ended its second quarter June 27 with 1,185 stores across 44 states, and its overall, store count has increased 5.1 percent from June 29, 2019 to June 27, 2020. The company has opened more than 725 new stores since 2006, and has achieved a five-year rolling average new-store success rate of 99 percent (defined as the percentage of stores opened in the last five years that are still open as of June 27, 2020), according to the company’s presentation.