Aivee & Z Teo north star

The couple recently opened their fifth and newest branch, a 400-sq.-m. clinic featuring such design flourishes as marble floors, wall-to-wall carpeting and curtain-like walls inspired by Roman columns, at Ayala Malls Vertis North in Quezon City. From hereon, the chain of beauty clinics will simply be known as ‘Aivee.’

MANILA, Philippines — Raised in Las Piñas City, one of Metro Manila’s southernmost cities, Dr. Aivee Aguilar Teo’s idea of “north” was, for years, confined mainly within Makati and Bonifacio Global City (BGC). It’s in BGC, after all, where two of her beauty clinics are located. She went further afield several years ago by opening a branch at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, but that was as far as Aivee and husband Dr. Z Teo were willing to go until recently.

The newest Aivee Ayala Malls Vertis North branch boasts interiors with marble floors as well as countertops, curtain-like walls and artworks mostly by up-and-coming Filipino artists.

For their fifth and latest branch, the well-loved couple decided to really venture out of their comfort zone by recently opening a clinic at the new Ayala Malls Vertis North in Quezon City. The move, which was two years in the making, was their response to patients living in Quezon City and, as they learned later, as far as Bulacan and Pampanga “who’ve been waiting for us,” says Aivee.

“We’re overwhelmed with the welcome we’ve received from Quezon City residents,” the dermatologist adds. “In fact, people all the way from Bulacan and Pampanga are very excited that we opened.”

Some of their Vertis North patients used to go to their other branches, especially at SM Megamall, but because of Metro Manila’s unpredictable traffic, they couldn’t go as often as they wished. With this development, they can now see Aivee or any in her team of doctors and aestheticians twice a month or even weekly.

“It was a pleasant surprise to learn that most of our clients in QC are new ones,” Z informs us. “If we’re going to base it on the ratio of new and old clients, which is 75:25, I’d say it was a good decision on our part to have opened  a branch here.”

The 400-sq.-m. branch has eight treatment suites and two consultation suites. It also features a beauty bar selling exclusive beauty and lifestyle products, including the Aivee Water bottle. But this early, Z is now in talks with a Singaporean design team to add five more treatment suites and an Aivee Café branch just a few steps away from their newly opened Vertis North branch.

“The idea is to make you feel pampered the moment you step into one of our clinics,” says Aivee, who personally selected the furniture and accent pieces, carpets and the velvet, old rose curtains that now go with their new place. “The curtains are a nice shade of pink that goes well with the gold.”

The Aivee clinic’s newest branch has eight treatment suites and two consultation suites.

Z, who oversaw the branch’s construction and selection of artworks mostly by up-and-coming Filipino artists, adds, “Certain elements from our old clinics, which people have come to love, like the printed wall-to-wall carpeting and bright, colorful artworks, are still here. At the same time, we’re pushing the envelope by purposely veering away from certain details we’ve done in the past and introducing a new set of design aesthetics.”

You’d have to be very observant to be able to catch the rather subtle changes behind the counter. For a good number of years, Z, based on his observations, has been toying around with the idea of dropping the words “the” and “clinic” from “the Aivee clinic.” He finally did it with the opening of their Vertis North location. From now on, every branch of their beauty clinic chain will simply be known as “aivee” — yes, with a small letter A.

“When you ask regulars where they go, they’d simply tell you ‘Aivee.’ Nobody says, I’m going to the Aivee Clinic. After being in the business for a good number of years, I feel there’s no need for us to explain anymore what and who we are. As far as branding goes, it’s clearer, faster and easier to remember us by reducing our name to simply Aivee,” says Z.

(Left) Aivee and Z Teo at their clinic’s Vertis North branch. (Right) The Aivee Water bottles.

If we include their beauty clinic in Singapore, where Z hails from, the couple is technically running six Aivee branches. The family, including children KenZ, Kenzo and Keli, flies to Singapore at least one weekend every month so that Z could attend to his patients there.

Aivee, who remains hands-on with patients in the Philippines, has designated every Monday of the week as her “Aivee day” for Vertis North regulars. If patients want to consult with her in Quezon City, they’d have to book an appointment with her on a Monday. It’s also on this day that the doctor treats patients to free unlimited servings of Aivee Ice Cream.

“I devote one day of the week to each of our five branches,” she says. “When we had four clinics, my Mondays were often spent attending to meetings at our headquarters, which is adjacent to the A Institute in BGC. Now, I have to find time for such meetings either early in the morning or sometime in the evening.”

Aivee Vertis North branch’s waiting area.

The couple made sure that all the treatments available at their four other clinics are also available at their newest branch. Such a move to standardize operations meant investing heavily in costly machines and equipment, as well as properly training each team of doctors assigned in the five branches.

“In short, every branch has a complete set of machines,” says Z. “Clients need not go to another branch to avail themselves of a particular (noninvasive or lunchtime) procedure. Not only was it expensive, but it required time. R&D had to do a series of testings to know if the machines we intended to invest in were good. We also had to make sure that our patients like the treatments.”