TOS girds for new challenges in the next 25 years

MANILA, Philippines - “We make your eyeglasses while you wait.”

The Optical Shop Inc. (TOS) launched its Philippine operations on this promise in 1986.

It was a virtual breakthrough in the domestic market then, as people with vision issues have to wait a few days at least to secure their eyeglasses. Those who can afford high-end eyewear would have to buy it in Singapore or Hong Kong.

“That was my vision, to put up a one-stop eyecare center in the Philippines to offer fast, reliable and complete services to benefit our countrymen,” said Dr. Gil Divinagracia, a well-known Filipino optometrist.

He said he got the idea from the United States where one-stop optical shops were already popular.

Divinagracia, along with two close friends, fellow optometrist Dr. Noel Santos and engineer Cesar Mercado, founded the TOS.

Another partner was Vivian Que Ascona, now president of Mercury Drug Corp., who offered the team a space on the second floor of the Mercury Drug North Mall, the present location of Glorietta Mall.

TOS’ first store was a 367-square meter facility which was already comparatively big at the time.

“To be a one-stop eyewear center, we needed not only in-house doctors and optical technicians, but also our own laboratory within the premises where we could do the lenses while the customers wait,” Divinagracia recalled.   

The people power upheaval in February 1986 that restored democracy in the country somehow set back the opening of the first TOS.

When the inauguration finally took place the following month, clients and guests came in droves, among them Kris Aquino, youngest daughter of then President Corazon Aquino, who cut the ceremonial ribbon.

“Having Kris at our opening not only gave us media mileage, but also highlighted the fact that we were also a fashion center,” Divinagracia recalled, adding it was also a marketing coup that attracted celebrities to TOS.

As the local authority in eyewear fashion, TOS carries a broad range of quality frames and sunglasses — from the classic to the newest models — from renowned designers worldwide.

Among its high-end product lines is the world-renowned Carl Zeiss whose premium eyeglass lenses from Carl Zeiss are the result of more than 150 years of advanced research, innovation and German technology.

Divinagracia said Carl Zeiss is also a world-leader in precision optics, surgical microscopes, as well as lasers, lenses and telescopes used in space exploration.

TOS also boasts of the widest inventory of ophthalmic and contact lenses in the country and a wide variety of optical accessories. At present, it has 20 outlets, 13 of them in Metro Manila, two in Iloilo, three in Cebu, and one each in Pampanga and Cavite.

TOS also introduced in the country a number of cutting edge-technology equipment that enabled it to meet is promise to make high-quality prescription eyeglasses within just one hour.

The new gizmos also included a computerized refractometer that could check visual/refractive errors in a customer in seconds, and an automated lens edging machine that enabled the clean and perfect fitting of lenses into spectacle frames every time.

TOS also put up a Plastic Lens Surfacing Laboratory, making it the only optical shop chain in the country to have such a facility. And in line with the company’s fashion focus, its branches have computer-aided eyewear selectors to help customers choose the frames for that “right look.”

To operate these high-tech devices and attend to its customers, TOS has eye doctors supported by highly trained technicians and service personnel manning its branches. Depending on its size, a branch can have two to four eye doctors.   

“We require our doctors to undergo continuing education, using training programs from the Philippine College of Optometry, to keep them updated on the latest procedures in eye examination and eye care and enhance their professionalism,” Divinagracia said.

On the other hand, TOS staff also go through regular training on customer service and product orientation.

“We are always on the lookout for breakthroughs in eyecare and we continue to upgrade our technology,” Divinagracia said. “But because of the huge investments required, we do this gradually and very carefully.”

Next year, TOS will open a new branch at Glorietta 1 in Makati, which, according to Divinagracia, will be their “flagship” store, plus more provincial branches.

The plan, he said, is to have around 40 branches that will give TOS a foothold in all major cities nationwide.

Over the next 25 years, the company will continue to expand in terms of the number of its outlets, products and services, but will do so in a calibrated way in order not to sacrifice the quality that it has always been known for.   

However, Divinagracia admitted that the market has changed. Customers, perhaps grown accustomed to TOS’ innovative offerings, are now more discriminating, demanding the latest products as well as cutting-edge services.

Because of this, the company is committed to enhancing further its services to be able to always provide eyeglasses in just an hour and meet the demand for lenses that are sometimes not readily available.