Doug Perkins Doug Perkins Douglas John David Perkins (born April 1943) is a British billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder of Specsavers, an international optical retail chain. Douglas John David Perkins was born in April 1943 in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. "His father was a policeman and his grandparents were farmers in the county for generations." He was educated at the Llanelli Boys Grammar School, and he graduated from Cardiff University. Perkins began his career as an optometrist in Llanelli and Carmarthen. In the 1970s, he took over his father-in-law's optician store in Bristol and subsequently opened 22 stores. Perkins co-founded Specsavers with
138 Mary Street, Brisbane and from that time the Perkins operations were gradually moved from the city to the Castlemaine site at Milton. In 1937, fire severely damaged the main Perkins complex opposite. Only this building, and the former stables at 124 Mary Street, survive from what was once a large inner city industrial complex. In 1943, the building was sold to Alfred Lawrence & Co Ltd, manufacturing chemists. Alfred Lawrence & Co Ltd retained ownership of the building until 1977. The storehouse is a small commercial building and store located at 138 Mary Street nearby to Perkins Stables and Mooneys Building with Harolds