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National vision companies move 350 jobs to downtown San Antonio
Eye Care Centers of America and Davis Vision to relocate corporate headquarters, rebrand retail stores to Visionworks
National vision companies move 350 jobs to downtown San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 1, 2011) – Eye Care Centers of America (ECCA) and Davis Vision, along with HVHC Inc., the holding company for the companies, today announced the move of their national headquarters to downtown San Antonio. The companies will take over more than 100,000 square feet in the Houston Street building which was formerly occupied by AT&T.
The company will also begin to consolidate its 15 national retail brands under a single name, Visionworks, and will open a new flagship state-of-the art retail location on the ground floor of the building. This store will provide the downtown community with a one-stop source for affordable vision care and eyewear.
"After a thorough search in Texas and across the country, we chose to relocate our corporate operations to downtown," said David Holmberg, HVHC’s president and chief executive officer. "This is an exciting time for our family of companies as we begin to rebrand our 500+ retail locations in Texas and nationwide, and we integrate our retail and managed care and insurance services in one location. We thank Mayor Castro and city officials for their partnership in helping to make our move a reality."
The new headquarters will bring more than 350 jobs downtown, including 100 new positions as Davis Vision relocates from Long Island, N.Y.
In addition to executive and administrative offices, the new location will offer an on-site conference and training center to serve associates of this vertically integrated family of vision companies.
"This exciting announcement is proof that the city's focus on retaining good corporate citizens as well as recruiting new ones is paying off," Mayor Julián Castro said. "With its decision to include retail space along with its corporate offices, HVHC is also providing fresh momentum to our SA 2020 goal of transforming downtown San Antonio into a vibrant place to live, work and conduct commerce."
"Our companies and our associates look forward to establishing and building new partnerships throughout the area and becoming even more involved in the downtown community," said ECCA President Jim Eisen.
City Manager Sheryl Sculley said, "This announcement implements the City’s strategy to retain and expand local businesses, particularly corporate headquarters, while continuing our efforts to attract new jobs. This project also represents the first corporate location in Downtown of over 40,000 square feet in the last 15 years and will be a catalyst for more business growth in our central city."
About HVHC Inc.
HVHC Inc. is a privately-held, for-profit holding company for a portfolio of vision companies which includes, among other companies, Davis Vision, Inc., Viva Optique, Inc. and Eye Care Centers of America, Inc. Together the vertically integrated company is the third largest provider of managed vision care products and services, and the third largest operators of specialty optical retail stores in the United States. It is also the second largest designer and distributor of eyewear in the United States and seventh largest global distributor of eyewear.
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