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MASON, Ohio—Pearle Vision has signed three new area development agreements in Western states. The new agreements were approved for the East Bay area of California; Irvine, Calif., and Colorado Springs, Colo., according to an announcement on Thursday. The agreements cover five locations in both California markets, and three new locations in Colorado Springs. Pearle Vision, a unit of Luxottica Retail, operates more than 500 eyecare centers throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Its licensed owners with area development agreements are granted exclusive territory rights and pay a reduced franchise fee and lower royalty fees, according to Pearle Vision’s announcement.

Satheesh Rangappan and Apurva Pancholi are the new licensed owners in the East Bay market with an agreement for five EyeCare Centers. Rangappan is CEO and founder of Web-Tech solutions and has extensive experience in software consulting and development. He also is a franchisee of Sport Clips Haircuts, with three locations in the Bay Area.

Pancholi is CEO and founder of Omnisenz Inc., an e-commerce and artificial intelligence/machine learning consulting company. His background is in providing technical and business solutions to global clients in life science, telecommunication and retail industries.

“We are excited about bringing new Pearle Vision EyeCare Centers to the East Bay area,” said Rangappan. “We look forward to bringing quality eyecare services to more neighborhoods and appreciate the opportunity to invest in the health and well-being of our community.”

Lee Walters is the new licensed owner in the Colorado Springs market with an agreement for three new eyecare centers. An Army veteran who served with the 4th Infantry at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Walters holds degrees in operations management and marketing from Auburn University. He worked for two Fortune 500 companies and then had a 24-year career in government service before returning to Colorado Springs, where he lives with his family.

“There’s a great need here for a professional eyecare center that is customer-focused, has hours that are convenient for our customers and offers an unmatched selection of eyewear,” Walters said. “At Pearle Vision, the focus is on the customer—a requirement for any business I am going to be involved in.”

Amit and Komal Kumar are current licensed owners of a Pearle Vision EyeCare Center in Irvine, and the couple recently signed an agreement with an investor partner to open five more locations. Komal Kumar is a licensed optician who oversees operations and patient care. Amit Kumar, who has a business background, handles the business and financial side.

“Because Pearle Vision offers medical care and a retail operation under one roof, it really played to our strengths as individuals, and multi-unit ownership addresses our goals for our family,” Komal Kumar said. “An area development agreement seemed like a natural next step for us. We are happy that this agreement will allow us to provide quality eyecare and eyewear to even more of our neighbors very soon.”