Santiago Interiores celebrates 25 years as an exclusive dealer of Santos kitchens
15 / 10 / 2021
Santiago Interiores – an exclusive Santos kitchen showroom in Santiago de Compostela (A Coruña) – celebrates the 25th anniversary of their opening. Sonsoles Cabana, current showroom manager and part of the team since 2003, talks to us about the history of the studio, the way they work and the exciting future ahead of them after a recent refurbishment.
What aspects of your philosophy have remained unchanged over the years?
I remember how 18 years ago, a huge framed sign hung at the entrance of the studio with what served as our slogan for a long time: ‘Give life to your dreams’. This idea still holds true, as it accurately sums up what we really do. It’s what gives us purpose day after day. We know that when a customer walks in the door, it’s to fulfil their dream of improving their home and making it completely theirs with well-designed products of excellent quality, whether they’re kitchens, living room furniture or accessories. This has always been the case and our goal is still doing everything we can to meet – or even exceed – our customers’ expectations.
How many people currently comprise the Santiago Interiores team?
We have a sales team made up of Emma López, Lucía Martínez, Francisco Moreno and myself although this is not my sole focus. We also have a team of designers and several groups of specialist kitchen fitters. In addition, in the area of logistics, we have the invaluable support of Sonia Castiñeiras, who makes our job so much easier with her amazing organisational skills.
The showroom recently underwent a comprehensive refurbishment that completely changed its structure and appearance. What has this meant for you?
The full refurbishment of Santiago Interiores undertaken in 2019 meant a radical change in all aspects, both in terms of image and work methodology. In truth, the new showroom is the culmination of a process of evolution that started in 2014. Thus began an exciting chapter in our history, characterised by the definition and professionalisation of each stage of the sales process. Before then, aside from attending to customers, sales representatives were in charge of creating design plans and managing orders. From that moment on, with the addition of designers dedicated to project development and order fulfilment, the sales representatives were finally able to focus on their relationships with customers. Furthermore, we expanded our portfolio of products and services, adding a careful selection of international furniture, lighting, tableware and homeware brands, which lets us carry out interior design projects for the daytime living areas.
What’s your process for designing and fitting a Santos kitchen like?
The process begins in the Sales Department, which is responsible for collecting all the information about the customer, their tastes and needs, as well as drawing up the first sketch of the layout that they’re looking for. Once we have this information, whenever possible, we send a technician to their home to take accurate measurements of the space. All this information is passed on to the designers who – based on it – prepare a complete kitchen design plan, including infographics, floor plan, elevations, list of items and quote. This design plan is presented to the customer and if they accept it, we draw up the technical installation plans and place the orders. The fitter foreman starts on-site monitoring, which consists in verifying that all stages are completed as planned in situ. Finally, we hand over the kitchen to the customer, after confirming that everything is to their satisfaction. We also explain how the furniture and appliances work.
What can people who visit your showroom find there?
The Santiago Interiores showroom is divided into six areas or spaces that are fully fitted out so that visitors can get to know our products first-hand. Upon entering, they’ll see a dining room with a table and a sideboard, which is connected to a kitchen featuring an island with a Mink Grey finish and tall units with Smoked Oak veneered wood.
The Living area lies parallel to the main display, which features sofas, armchairs, chairs, rugs and the new modular shelves designed by Santos. Then there’s another kitchen that opens out to a dining room. It’s finished in Silk Black LAH and Grey Marble and has an island with a plinth drawer and tall units with retractable doors.
The middle of the showroom holds a linear kitchen that comes with a large glass door unit and an adjoining dining room, as well as a living room with a fireplace. We commonly use this space for project presentations on a large screen. There’s also a sliding door that serves as a movable partition that conceals a spacious laundry with an Innsbruck White finish in this area.
At the back of the showroom is the fourth kitchen, a MARCO model with a more classic design, with a dining room that we also use for presentations. Lastly, there’s a living zone that lets us hold meetings with greater privacy in a more secluded area.
SANTIAGO INTERIORES
Av. San Lázaro, 91
15703 Santiago de Compostela – A Coruña
T 981 552 190
santiagointeriores@santossantiago.com
https://santossantiago.com
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