Joint Venture Partner at IOLLA - Sussex and South Coast

Own and Lead Your Own IOLLA Showroom

We're looking for entrepreneurial people to bring IOLLA to new communities across the UK & Ireland.

We're particularly interested in growing our presence across South East England and South Coast, but we're not restricted to the locations listed. If you know your local community, understand what makes it tick and believe IOLLA could thrive there, we'd love to hear from you.

This is an opportunity to co-own and operate your own IOLLA showroom, building a local business with the backing of an established, growing brand.

About IOLLA

IOLLA is an independent, design-led eyewear brand born in Glasgow in 2015.

What started as a small Scottish start-up has grown into a business with 8 showrooms across the UK, a growing customer base and our own Scottish production workshop, where we design, assemble and dispatch every pair of IOLLA glasses ourselves.

We're independent. We're people-first. And we're built around doing things differently from traditional optical retail.

Now, we're ready to bring IOLLA to more communities, and we're looking for the right people to help us do it.

The opportunity

As a Joint Venture Partner, you'll co-own and lead your own IOLLA showroom in a location where you see an opportunity to make the brand thrive.

You'll take ownership of the local business, while having the infrastructure, expertise and support of the wider IOLLA team behind you.

You'll be responsible for:

• Leading and growing your showroom and retail team
• Taking ownership of local performance and profitability
• Creating an exceptional customer experience, the IOLLA way
• Building IOLLA's presence and reputation within your community
• Developing local marketing, partnerships, events and opportunities for growth
• Building relationships that turn customers into IOLLA ambassadors

You bring the entrepreneurial energy, local knowledge and ambition. We bring the brand, product, systems, supply chain, expertise and support.

This is ownership with infrastructure, not starting an independent business from scratch, and not simply stepping into another corporate retail role.

An accessible route to ownership

Unlike many franchise or independent start-up opportunities, our Joint Venture model is designed to make business ownership more accessible.

With structured support and external funding options available, personal capital investment can start from as little as £20,000, depending on location and funding structure.

You'll have the opportunity to build long-term value in your own IOLLA business, while benefiting from an established proposition and proven infrastructure.

What IOLLA provides

You won't be doing it alone.

Behind you is an experienced central team covering brand and marketing, retail operations, business development, optics and production.

We'll take care of the things we're best at, including:

• Product design and development
• Our production and supply chain
• Brand and marketing support
• Retail systems and processes
• Training and operational guidance
• Strategic and commercial support
• The infrastructure required to run an IOLLA showroom

Our team has been building IOLLA since the beginning. You'll have direct access to people who have helped take the business from a small Scottish start-up to the brand it is today.

Our job is to give you the foundations. Your job is to build something brilliant on them.

Who we're looking for

You don't necessarily need to come from optics.

You might be an experienced optical or retail manager, an existing business owner, an ambitious leader or someone with a strong connection to their community and a desire to build something of their own.

What matters most is your entrepreneurial mindset.

We're looking for someone who is:

• Commercially minded and motivated by growth
• A natural leader who gets the best from people
• Confident taking ownership and making decisions
• Creative and proactive when it comes to marketing
• Passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences
• Comfortable rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck in
• Prepared to hustle to make their business successful

We believe people buy from people. Our most powerful marketing tool is word of mouth, and we believe the IOLLA proposition is worth talking about.

So we're looking for someone who will get out into their community, create experiences people want to share and turn great customers into IOLLA ambassadors.

Why IOLLA?

Because you get to combine the independence of owning your own business with the backing of an established brand.

You bring the ambition, local knowledge and entrepreneurial energy.

We bring the brand, product, experience, systems and support.

Together, we build IOLLA in your community.

Ready to build something of your own?

If you're ready to stop building someone else's business and start building your own, with the right support behind you, we'd love to speak.

Apply to arrange a no-obligation conversation and explore whether becoming an IOLLA Joint Venture Partner could be right for you.