Albion to give Glasses Direct a lift

Albion is to handle the £2m advertising and brand development business for online retailer Glasses Direct.

The brief will include working on brand development, advertising, website design and online campaigns.

Glasses Direct was set up by entrepreneur James Murray Wells in 2004 after he was “taken aback” by the £150 cost of reading glasses.

He used £1,000 of his student loan to organise a supply of prescription lenses directly from glazing laboratories, enabling him to retail glasses online at a fraction of the usual cost, without having to subsidise loss-making sight tests. The company sells prescription glasses online from £15 a pair.

The company has seen strong growth and is on course to reach a turnover of £3m. Murray Wells raised £2.9m of funding in July, from backers Index Ventures. Murray Wells says that the funds will be spent on marketing.

He is also thought to be considering a stock market flotation to raise further cash for a global expansion.

Last year, the company appointed David Magliano as a non-executive director to advise the company on its marketing strategy (MW May 4 2006). Magliano was the marketing brains behind easyJet and the successful 2012 Olympic bid.