An Eye on Greater Awareness of Care

Q: Devlyn has more than 21 business lines. How are these lines structured and what growth areas have you detected?

A: We have different commercial formats that target different market segments. In addition, we have a B2B service through which we provide solutions for large stores that have made us responsible for their eyewear segment. Our core business is the optical segment: glasses, contact lenses, solutions and drops, but we have also developed other categories, such as clinics dedicated to performing corneal checks and transplants. Between 2003 and 2014, we were among the most important operators that worked with Seguro Popular for cataract surgeries. Recently, we have developed an audiology segment, a business that has shown triple-digit growth in the last three years.

Q: How has Devlyn contributed to the optical segment in Mexico since the company was founded?

A: Years ago, Mexico had a closed market and everything we sold we manufactured ourselves. As the country began to open up, we were able to bring to Mexico products of better quality and design and we started buying brands from international designers in the optical sector, such as Ray-Ban and Chanel. We then began to develop our own brand and we now have our own portfolio of products that offer design and quality. This category is now our house brand and represents more than 35 percent of our products.

Q: What milestones have illustrated Devlyn’s business growth over the past 82 years?

A: As a family business, we are aware of the turning points that led us to grow. The value of hard work is the basis of our business and is reflected in the code of ethics that each member of the family and each employee follows. One of the most important milestones was the opening of a store in a Sears department store in Chihuahua. It was an absolute success and we continued to open Devlyn stores in cities such as Tijuana, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Another important milestone for us was the development of internal technology and manufacturing facilities to produce frames and crystals. We also adopted German technology for contact lenses that helped us grow much more than our competitors.

Q: How responsible are Mexicans when it comes to visual health? How often do patients meet their annual tests and acquire the products doctors recommend?

A: For Devlyn, health in Mexico is very important. As President of the Health Commission (CCE), I believe that in the public and private sectors there is sufficient awareness of what it means to have a healthy lifestyle. But, in general, the population is not aware about the importance of visual health. In the case of children, for instance, parents should focus more on checking whether their children see well or not because vision issues can result in attention, behavioral and learning problems. There is also a lack of awareness about the importance of performing an annual eye check. These tests can detect chronic diseases, such as hypertension or diabetes.

Q: How does Devlyn promote awareness?

A: A few years ago, we helped declare October sightawareness month. We use this month to promote awareness about visual health, using social networks and street campaigns, and invite people to take a vision test. In parallel, Fundación Devlyn focuses on providing a vision test to that part of the population that does not have access to this basic health services. In addition, we are trying to promote public policies related to prevention together with the Mexican Association of the Optical Sector. We need to work with the authorities to develop the national health system and to establish a patient-centric system. The main problem in the health sector is that institutions are saturated. In addition, the process for approving innovative products is very long.