THE UK's biggest optical retailer, Specsavers Opticians, plans to open 70 more stores, creating 1,000 jobs.

Having become the market leader last year, with a market share of 27 per cent, Specsavers is set to implement an aggressive growth strategy that could see at least six new branches opened in the North-East.

The group already operates five outlets in the Tees Valley, including one in High Row, Darlington.

The store openings are part of plans to increase its market share in the UK by a further two per cent this year.

The Guernsey-based group employs about 9,000 staff, and has 423 stores across the UK, Republic of Ireland and The Netherlands.

The company claims that one in four people who wear glasses have bought them from one of their branches. It sold five million frames last year, at a rate of one every six seconds, recording sales of £430m.

As well as expansion in the UK, Specsavers also plans to increase the number of stores it operates on the European mainland.

A spokeswoman for the company said: "We don't want to say where the new stores will be at the moment as that information could be commercially sensitive."

She added: "However, we are planning to open five or six new stores across the North-East region."

Specsavers is believed to have begun the expansion drive as a result of increasing competition on the high street, particularly from supermarket chains such as Asda, which has opened its own opticians.

Doug Perkins, Specsavers' founder and chairman, said: "Supermarkets are being hailed as the biggest threat to high street opticians, but we believe we can go head-to-head with them on price and choice.

"We currently hold the largest share of the UK market in a climate of increased competition. We are still maintaining our lead, with twice the market share of our nearest competitors."

He added: "We know what consumers are looking for and can deliver on every level, which is reflected in our commitment to the training and development of all our staff."

Many of the new North-East stores could be joint ventures with existing opticians in the region.