Well known to many in the optical community, our brother Peter Nicholls was part of a three-generation optical family. Our late father Viv was an optometrist as are we and Peter’s niece (Bruce’s daughter) Georgia.
A long-time player in the optical wholesale market, Peter’s success in the industry revolved around his honesty, integrity and doing the right thing for people. The toughest role he ever had, he said, was to make factory staff redundant in 1996 when the Optical Holdings Ltd (OHL) frame manufacturing plant was closed.
In Peter’s world, people came first. Maryanne Dransfield, the previous owner and editor of NZ Optics, said, “Peter was one of the most highly respected people in the optical community. He was genuinely honest, had integrity and was extremely humble.”
Peter initially worked for Ceramco after completing his BSc in chemistry, then joined the optical world in 1979, as manufacturing supervisor for the then Optical Manufacturing Company (OMC), a division of OHL, which manufactured acetate optical frames in their Avondale factory. In 1982 he became manufacturing and export manager and saw the company boom over the next few years. It was during this time that the relationship with Jonathan Sceats’ frame companies was at its height and Le Specs’ sunglass range was launched.
