Independent optometrist Ocula has acquired Christchurch’s iconic Groovy Glasses, taking the network to four practices across the Garden City and Queenstown Lakes District.

“For over a decade since moving to New Zealand, I've admired Trudy McBeath’s courage and ambition to step out of the normal conventions of retail optometry and carve out a unique niche,” said Ocula founder and director Danielle Winstone. “I've kept in touch with Trudy over the years and when she indicated she was ready to retire, Groovy Glasses was a natural next step for Ocula.”

Having recently turned 60, Groovy founder McBeath said she decided to sell to try and squeeze something into her life that wasn’t optometry or business, especially as the former is “disturbingly finite”.

“After the shock of the first Covid lockdown in March 2020, I decided to do a course to attain my class-2 licence, thinking that as a plan B, I might become a truck driver. I have now modified my plan and have scored a job as a school bus driver. This being my first week on the job, and with the bus route winding its way up and over the precipitous Dyers Pass Road twice a day, I can now tell you that being a bus driver is just about as scary as being an optometrist!”

Trudy McBeath in her new role

Ocula was a natural choice, said McBeath, as she was keen to encourage another woman in business. “I was impressed by Danielle and her business partner and husband Johnny Winstone’s professionalism and respect,” she said. While McBeath said she looks forward to being involved in the creative process, she was happy to sell outright and is confident that the Ocula team will take the practice to the next level. “I am sure the name and reputation of Groovy Glasses will go from strength to strength under Danielle and Johnny's stewardship and I look forward to standing back and basking in their reflected limelight as they grow Groovy to its full potential.”

While Groovy Glasses’ eclectic retro and Ocula’s understated modern approaches might appear at odds with one another, Winstone said they have lots in common and each represents unique, high-quality eyewear with a strong focus on customer experience. “Ocula will look to preserve all that has made Groovy Glasses successful, including its unique brand personality that has forged its success to date, as well as grow the back-end of the business with Ocula's systems and processes.” Winstone added she’s also very pleased that the Groovy team has decided to stay on. “The Groovers are the core essence of the business, most having been a part of Groovy for over 20 years. So we're thrilled that Liz, Debbie, Karen and Trudy are all keen to come on this next stage of the Groovy Glasses journey with us.”

When asked if Ocula is looking to acquire more practices, Winstone said the group is not in acquisition mode as such but will seize the right opportunity when it presents itself. “Our intention with acquisitions has always been to consider only the right practices and locations that are in alignment with the Ocula brand. For this reason, there are only a few locations and practices that would fall into this strategy across New Zealand. We've always been driven by quality, not quantity, not just in our eyewear and eyecare ethos.”