Don Welch Brings Expansion into View at Eyemart Express

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If Don Welch has arrived at your organization, things are about to get interesting. Perusing the résumé of the current senior vice president of real estate and construction at Eyemart Express takes you on a virtual tour of brands that have appeared everywhere seemingly overnight. Welch has spent his career securing the real estate and building out retailers that, for so many of us, have been longstanding parts of our lives.

Welch doesn’t go to any organization to coast. His first stint at Payless Shoes in the late ’80s and early ’90s resulted in a time where he played an integral role in opening one new store basically every single day. He remembers when malls turned their noses up at the brand, believing the fledgling company to somehow be below the mall experience. It’s some kind of poetic justice that when considering a mall anywhere in the United States, Payless Shoes would quickly make a shortlist of companies sure to have a presence on-site.

The SVP helped build out the Athlete’s Foot in the Greater Atlanta area, headed up regional development for furniture and electronics stores under the Thorn Americas umbrella, led strategic development for Coldwater Creek stores in the western half of the US, and, just prior to coming to Eyemart Express, spent four years aiding Five Below’s massive expansion throughout the Midwest and South.

“You can learn from both good and bad leaders. We’re all going to have bad leaders at some point in our career but identify what makes them that way and make sure you understand how to lead differently when you get the chance.”

Don Welch

Welch’s experience runs as deep as it does wide. At Conn’s Home Plus, the executive would get the chance to negotiate 750,000-square-foot distribution centers in addition to retail stores.

“I’m never afraid of learning something new,” the SVP explains. “I’ve spent a lot of my career meeting new people and learning new processes. I really enjoy that part of my work. I’ve always told my daughters that you can learn from both good and bad leaders. We’re all going to have bad leaders at some point in our career but identify what makes them that way and make sure you understand how to lead differently when you get the chance.”

Eyemart Express was able to lure Welch away from Five Below in February 2023 with the promise of providing new on-the-job learning experience. The optometry and same-day service eyewear provider that already has 250 stores in 42 states is still looking for ways to expand, and so they called in the man who has made it happen time and time again.

But there has been a learning curve. It’s Welch’s first time working on behalf of a retailer that includes medical services. In traditional retail, Welch said the business is largely left to carve its own path and make decisions based on customers and the business needs. Introducing the complexities and regulation of the healthcare field provides what Welch humorously calls “a little bit thicker of a minefield.”

It hasn’t kept Welch from getting right to work. In the past 11 months, Welch has overseen the opening of 9 new stores, but next year should be another story.

“In 2024 and beyond, we’re going to see things ramping up,” Welch explains. “We’re looking at opening stores at a much faster clip. That might not be a store a day like the old days, but when you look at percentage growth, if we can build 25 new stores, that’s 10 percent growth. For any company, 10 percent growth is huge. That’s the kind of growth we will be working toward for the foreseeable future.”

“I can see things from the eye of the consumer, from the eye of someone who has seen a lot of different retail settings and can understand what is going to help a facility look its absolute best.”

Don Welch

The SVP says his own development has been greatly supported by new Eyemart Express CEO Mike Nuzzo who came to the business in late 2022. Welch has been given the bandwidth to build out his own team while learning from some of the veterans of the organization. He doesn’t pretend to be the expert in Eyemart’s business, but he’s learning fast about how to best support its expansion efforts.

“I think I’m able to bring a practicality to this role,” Welch says. “I’m not a store designer, but I can see things from the eye of the consumer, from the eye of someone who has seen a lot of different retail settings and can understand what is going to help a facility look its absolute best.”

Eyemart Express is also examining the possibility that its central lab housed within its corporate home office might be better utilized to grow smaller footprint locations across the US.

Welch says as the company looks to expand into new and existing markets, it’s considering ways to broaden its strategic new store approach including smaller store locations where they may have a reduced on-site store lab or possibly no lab at all. That would mean more work for the central lab, but the SVP says the organization is partnering with the central lab head to create new efficiencies and grow its own capabilities, prepping for a potential wider support effort in whatever way is needed to help drive the company’s growth.

There’s a lot more on Welch’s plate at present, and he’s only a year in. The SVP is undefeated when it comes to helping a retailer move to its next bigger and better next chapter. It’s hard to imagine that this could be the time he misses.

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