From beats and bass lines to a brand new vision for optometrist Moin Valli

The switch from playing house music to running an opticians chain may seem a big leap but that is exactly the step Moin Valli took a decade ago and he is now reaping the rewards for his foresight.

Mr Valli runs a chain of independent opticians across the North yet it very nearly didn’t happen for the enterprising businessman.

“It was actually a last minute decision,” says Mr Valli of his career path into optometry.

“From a very, very young age I wanted to be a businessman,” he added.

At school his interest in medicine began to develop but at college he realised the life of a junior doctor didn’t appeal to him.

He said: “The 80 hours a week, the living in hospitals, the doing exams til you’re in your 30s didn’t appeal to me at all. I wanted a job that was not only more nine to five but also had a more commercial side to it.”

It came to a straight shootout between optometry and dentistry on the day his Ucas forms had to be handed in. Optometry won the day.

He said: “In hindsight it was definitely the best decision, because I think optometry has got a 50-50 balance between clinical and commercial elements and I enjoy both aspects of the business a lot.

“Dentistry is not as commercial as optometry.”

Instead of heading straight into a job as a optometrist after qualifying in 2000 Mr Valli wanted to sample different experiences and scratch his entrepreneurial itch. He acted as a locum so that he would have the freedom of not being employed by anyone.

“I also had interests in other fields. I’ve always been fairly enterprising in things that I had done,” says Mr Valli.

He moved to Leeds and started a recruitment agency specialising in the optometry sector.

Mr Valli added: “I also had an interest in music. For about four years we used to do a house music night in Leeds. Event organising, DJing and hiring DJs and so forth.”

The chapter on sound went quiet and was replaced with vision after Mr Valli met his future wife Rachel.

“I wanted to do something that was a little bit more settled and during the day,” he said.

Mr and Mrs Valli went on to form Valli Opticians, the first store opening in Lockwood near Huddersfield.

Today, Valli Opticians has over 14 stores across the North of England employing over 72 staff, majority of them in optometry, and a turnover of £5m.

The group has been on the acquisition trail ever since its inception in 2005. But it was last year that it made its most significant acquisition when it purchased the AH Merton group – doubling the number of stores and nearly trebling turnover. The fact that the AH Merton group was established in 1977, the same year Mr Valli was born, isn’t lost on him.

Over the past decade the greatest change the industry has seen is the shrinkage of the independent market. Mr Valli says: “The statistics are that they shrink by two per cent every year compared to the multiples – this is your Specsavers, Boots, Vision Express.”

To combat this Valli Opticians is making its proposition different to that of the big hitters in the industry.

“The independents that are doing well like myself are the ones that are making sure that the proposition that we offer to our clients is very contrasting to what the multiples are offering,” he said.

A key tranche to this differentiation is investment in technology. The company offers more thorough eye tests and utilises 3D eye scanning technology.

The group is also using technology to deliver other services including eye care in the home and Valli Co-Optic, which specialises in eye care for companies. Valli Opticians also visits affiliated care homes to carry out eye tests.

It’s not been all plain sailing for Valli Opticians though, as its store in Hebden Bridge was recently put out of action by the floods on Boxing Day.

“We should reopen now in about five weeks’ time. In total we’re going to be closed for three months.”

The impact of the floods has been blunted at Valli Opticians due to the fact that the company has more than one site and all the staff from Hebden Bridge have been relocated to the Huddersfield branch and the head office.

Mr Valli said: “I think the sad part for Hebden Bridge is that it is full of independent single businesses, people with very creative ideas.

“A lot of businesses didn’t have flood cover and judging by the costs, certainly to my business, I’m concerned that someone with a single business won’t be able to afford these costs.

“But the positive thing is Hebden Bridge being what it is, full of life and culture and energy, hopefully it will very quickly get back to where it was before.”

Looking ahead Mr Valli is eyeing up further growth. He said: “I would say, without giving too many details away due to non-disclosure agreements and so on, there are another two acquisitions planned.

“Maybe by the middle or end of this year.”

However at the moment the group’s eyes are set on consolidation having just recently acquired the AH Merton group.

Where does this entrepreneurial spirit come from? Mr Valli thinks it may be down to his roots.

Moin’s father came over from Gujarat, India to work in the cotton mills of Batley and Dewsbury before latterly Blackburn and Darwen.

“Interestingly enough recently there was something I read in The Economist that shows worldwide there seems to be a massive entrepreneurial spirit in Gujarati Indians.”

If the past decade is anything to go by and this enterprising optometrist’s enthusiasm for the business remains undimmed then success is sure to continue at Valli Opticians.

Moin Valli factfile

Title: Managing director

Date of birth: 10/10/1977

Lives: Huddersfield

Favourite holiday destination: Portugal

Last book read: Leading by Alex Ferguson and Michael Moritz

Favourite film: Of the films seen recently it’s definitely Star Wars The Force Awakens

Favourite song: Finally by Kings of Tomorrow

Car driven: Range Rover Sport

Most proud of: My children

Education: Degree in Optometry BSc (Hons) MCOptom