type non trading company from 2010 business fully integrated into boots opticians industry retail opticians founded 1750 headquarters nottingham england uk key people andy ferguson ceo pradip patel md products eye care owner de rigo 42 % and alliance boots 58 % previous owners of boots opticians number of employees 2 500 2007 2 parent walgreens boots alliance website www.danda.co.uk peter dollond established his business in 1750 dollond & aitchison shop in london 2009 dollond & aitchison was one of the oldest chains of retail opticians in the united kingdom having been established in 1750 . the business was absorbed into boots opticians in 2009 and stores have gradually been rebranded under the boots opticians name completed in 2015 . contents 1 history 2 market share 3 references 4 literature 5 external links history edit on 21 april 1750 peter dollond opened a small optical business in vine street near hatton garden in london . he was joined by his father john dollond in 1752 . the dollonds became notable for the quality of their optical products . in 1761 john dollond now a partner in the business was appointed optician to king george iii and the duke of york and albany . in 1781 peter dollond made bifocal spectacles . at the great exhibition 1851 in london the dollonds were awarded a medal for the excellence of their optical instruments . in 1889 james aitchison established his first business in fleet street . 1 in 1927 dollond & co merged with aitchison & co to form dollond & aitchison abbreviated d & a . in 1969 the company moved to its current location in aston birmingham . 2 during the 1960s dollond & aitchison was a subsidiary of the former british television company television wales and west . citation needed from 1970 until 1982 d & a were successful in a series of acquisitions in the united kingdom spain and italy . in 1994 however management buy outs of the uk spanish and italian companies took place . in the 1990s d & a launched a number of services for customers such as in 1996 the introduction of computer analysis for eyesight . the company ran a series of memorable adverts in the 1990s featuring screen actor burt reynolds 3 to promote the service . they launched their website in 1997 and in 1998 began a contact lenses by post scheme . the italian frame manufacturer de rigo purchased d & a in 1999 . in 2001 d & a sold its manufacturing arm to bbgr . in the same year restructuring of the company took place consisting of the three wholly owned subsidiaries and holding company . the company employs more than 2 500 staff including more than 400 opticians . at the time of the boots merger it had approximately 380 branches in the uk consisting of around 240 group owned sites and 140 franchises . citation needed on 29 january 2009 it was announced 4 that boots opticians were to merge with d & a forming a chain of 690 stores and 5 000 staff after boots purchased a controlling share in d & a. the company had denied several months previously that it was in financial trouble . 5 market share edit dollond & aitchison was one of the four major uk opticians that between them control 70 % of the british market for glasses and contact lenses . citation needed dollond & aitchison were royal warrant holders and supplied glasses to the queen and duke of edinburgh . 6 references edit bradley nigel 2007 . qualitative research 7 . marketing research tools and techniques . oxford university press . p. 271 . isbn 0 19 928196 3 . griffin jon 29 january 2009 . boots takes over dollond & aitchison . the birmingham post . retrieved 29 january 2009 . burt reynolds ad for dollond and aitchison boots opticians to merge with dollond & aitchison . alliance boots . 29 january 2009 . retrieved 5 june 2013 . flagship store shuts its doors . trinity mirror . 2 october 2008 . retrieved 5 june 2013 . 1 literature edit hugh barty king . eyes right the story of dollond & aitchison opticians 1750 1985 . quiller press 1986 . isbn 978 0 907621 69 0 external links edit media related to dollond & aitchison at wikimedia commons dollond & aitchison official website boots opticians at de rigo s website v t e walgreens boots alliance subsidiaries alliance healthcare boots uk boots contract manufacturing boots opticians drugstore.com duane reade farmacias benavides guangzhou pharmaceuticals 50 % walgreens walgreens health services predecessors alliance boots cunningham drug dollond & aitchison drug fair farmacias el amal happy harry s kerr drug usa drug brands no. 7 17 cosmetics luminese people stefano pessina elizabeth fagan simon roberts charles rudolph walgreen charles rudolph walgreen jr. gregory wasson jim skinner jesse boot 1st baron trent john boot 2nd baron trent john boot ornella barra yves romestan stewart adams sir gordon hobday related grupo sanborns ibuprofen intercom plus schoep s ice cream strepsils walgreen drug store historic site v t e selected royal warrant holders of the british royal family by appointment to hm the queen abels moving services ainsworths angostura limited akzonobel autoglym axminster carpets bendicks bentley motors bollinger britvic bt burberry cadbury carphone warehouse castrol charbonnel et walker daks dhl express dorma ede & ravenscroft fortnum & mason frank smythson gieves & hawkes h. p. bulmer henry poole & co j. barbour and sons james purdey and sons jaguar cars john lewis john lobb land rover louis roederer mappin & webb martini & rossi minky molton brown mo t & chandon nestl procter & gamble uk richer sounds roberts radio ryvita schweppes spode steinway & sons tanqueray twinings unilever uk vauxhall motors veuve clicquot ponsardin waitrose weetabix wilkin & sons william drake wolsey worcestershire medal service by appointment to hrh the duke of edinburgh boots opticians daks ede & ravenscroft frank smythson gieves & hawkes hatchards holland & holland j. barbour and sons james purdey and sons john lobb land rover lyle & scott penhaligon s truefitt & hill by appointment to hrh the prince of wales ainsworths aston martin autoglym bentley motors burberry crabtree & evelyn daks ede & ravenscroft frank smythson gieves & hawkes holland & holland j. barbour and sons jaguar cars james purdey and sons john lobb land rover laphroaig linn products minky penhaligon s peter jones ritz hotel roberts radio shepherd neame taylors of harrogate turnbull & asser vauxhall motors waitrose weetabix winsor & newton category commons retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title dollond % 26 aitchison & oldid 738361481 categories companies based in birmingham west midlandscompanies established in 1750eyewear retailers of the united kingdombritish royal warrant holders1750 establishments in great britainhidden categories use dmy dates from november 2014pages using infobox company with unsupported parametersall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from may 2009commons category with page title same as on wikidata navigation menu 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