The woman behind the vision

by Penny Angeles-Tan | May 3, 2019 | Business

Ideal Vision Center (IVC) is already a household name in the eye health care industry for more than three decades but according to Joy Go, IVC assistant vice president for marketing and merchandising, the vision should not stop there. She believes that the company’s reputation should be treated as an opportunity to continue to educate, innovate and research for the benefit of Filipinos.

“In the Philippines, eye health care is not a priority and we aim to change that mindset. It’s a long, ongoing process especially with the fast-changing business landscape but we look forward to seeing the light at the end of it,” Go says.

Go, whose grandfather launched Ideal Optical, is confident and determined to achieve their goals. As head of branding, marketing and merchandising, Go is also always finding new opportunities to explore, expand and discover new solutions to make eye care accessible to everyone.

Despite growing up in a family of eye care professionals, Go’s involvement in the eye care industry is not a childhood dream. Her initial passion was on food which explains why she has a degree in Culinary Arts and Related Services. Her interest in eyewear and eye care was piqued only when she started working part-time in IVC.

“More than the technicalities behind being an optometrist, I find the marketing and research side of the business very endearing. Aside from that, I am also very interested in eyewear fashion,” Go stated.

Go got her degree in optometry at the Centro Escolar University and joined the family business in 2002. She still loves to cook and says the key to finding a balance between two passions is “you don’t give up one or the other but enjoy both at the same time.”

The eye doctor also noted that being in the eye care industry gave her a meaningful purpose of taking care of other people’s needs and well-being. It has also become important to her to provide only the best vision solutions. “We always try to find the most advanced products, to offer more advanced and better products to our patients.”

To be able to do that, Go noted the importance of partnering with brands that share their vision. Hence, their partnership with Essilor, the world’s number one ophthalmic company that offers complete vision solution through its wide range of products including Crizal, Transitions and Varilux, gives them an opportunity to provide clients an access to world-class eye care products.

“Partnering with Essilor for more than 32 years is the best move we made to improve our service to our customers. We at IVC, knows that Essilor share the same vision with us – to offer top-notch eye health care to Filipinos,” she said.

Aside from this vision, the eye doctor furthered about her personal goal on leaving a legacy in the eye health care industry. “It is my ambition, through IVC, to leave a legacy and be a part of every Filipino’s eye health care routine. It is a long and challenging path but we will never stop improving and finding solutions so that quality eye health care will be more convenient and accessible to all,” Go says.