Greetings from London

30/09 2019 - Stores

It wasn’t so far-fetched when Martin Dollerup ended up in retail, as both his father and grandfather used to work in this sector. After Martin finished his studies, he started his apprenticeship at one of our Louis Nielsen* stores in Denmark. Now, three years later, he has just completed six months of working in a Specsavers store in the heart of London and is now based in our Louis Nielsen store in Aarhus, the second-largest city in Denmark. Martin is about to begin a part-time course in economics and business law. He’s flying high and aspires to become a store owner one day.

*Louis Nielsen: in 2005, Specsavers acquired the successful Danish optical chain Louis Nielsen, led by its founder of the same name. As the brand was so well-known within Denmark, the stores kept operating under the name Louis Nielsen.

Martin: “I started in the store in Viborg, a city in central Jutland, actually by coincidence. The Viborg partner is a friend of my uncle, so when I spoke to him about my apprenticeship, he invited me to work at his store. Louis Nielsen felt more professional than other retail chains, and I knew that I could learn a lot here – for example, from the way we treat our customers. So, I decided to take the step.”

Martin got his certificate for ‘optical dispenser’, which means he is certified to give customers advice – based on the recommendations from the optician – about the type of lenses they need.

During his two and a half years in Viborg, he learned a lot about the world of optics, store merchandising, and gained his Optical Dispenser certificate at the Louis Nielsen Academy. Martin: “These were great opportunities from which I learned a lot! On top of this, I also wanted to have the experience of going abroad. As I didn’t have any savings to travel the world, I got the idea of doing an internship in a store in the UK. Via the store director in Viborg, I got in contact with a colleague at the Specsavers support office in Copenhagen, who arranged an interview for me at the Tottenham Court Road store in London.”

Now, almost a year later, Martin is back in Denmark with many learnings. “During my time in the London store, the store partners allowed me to fulfil different roles. I started as an optical assistant, and when I finished, I was assistant manager. I learned how to run a store, had a bit of influence on how we managed things – it was great to get these opportunities and to have more responsibility.”

Martin will soon start his study in economics and business law while working at the Aarhus store. “I just started in Aarhus as an optical dispenser, and along the way, I’m looking forward to getting more managing tasks to learn more about leading a store. One day, I’d like to run my own store as well, so it’s great to be able to learn in practice every day.”

What does Martin like best about working at Specsavers/Louis Nielsen? “It’s great to see that the atmosphere in most stores is pretty similar. All stores I’ve worked in – both in Denmark and the UK – have the same relaxed atmosphere, with nice colleagues and store partners who are always willing to help. That means I always like to go to work – and I think that’s the most important thing when it comes to a job.”

The opportunity Martin had is just one example of the many possibilities within Specsavers/Louis Nielsen. Have a look if there’s an opportunity for you too. As Martin’s experience shows, we encourage adventures abroad!