Success is in the frame as opticians prove fans

Hull-based Fan Frames, which was set up in early 2011, supplies club-branded spectacle frames for clubs including Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. In October last year, it launched a line aimed at independent opticians.

Director Paul Gibson said: “We only expected to reach 100 outlets by March so to do it in less than three months after launching is a result.

“We are selling much faster than we thought we would given it’s a brand new concept. Not only are practices buying the frames, they are reordering earlier than we thought they would too.”

Mr Gibson said that fans spreading the word had resulted in some new opticians coming on board. “Word of mouth has helped. We got an order from one optician who heard about the frames from her dentist.”

The company says it is planning to release more styles for children and is in talks with a major supermarket chain about stocking one of its other product lines. Talks are also taking place with a distributor in the Philippines and Singapore.

Fan Frames currently employs five people and is forecasting turnover of £300,000 in the year to April. Mr Gibson said towards the end of the year the company would look at moving to new premises.