At last La boutique in the village of competa is now open. The huge 3 floor department store has been the vision of Jose (owner of Portichuello Ferreteria) and his fiancée Lisa.
It has taken him nearly 8 years to transform the original second floor shop within the family building to the store it is today. The building can be found on the left hand side as you enter Competa on the way to the car park. This building started as a ground level herbal and drug store run by Jose’s family. When Jose returned from military service 15 years ago he opened his own independent store on the second floor of the building .In its time it was the place to do your wedding list and buy items for your home. Over the next couple of years Jose went on to set up and create the massive ferriteria complex on the Venta de Palma and Competa crossroads. Once achieving success in the hardware arena he looked for his next project. Rather than starting a business from scratch it seemed to make sense to invest in the family building in the village and to expand an already successful shop albeit a small business. When the time came his family was happy to move the Herbalist across the road to a new shop allowing Jose to resurrect the whole building and expand it underneath. Over an 8 year period work stopped and started on what is now La boutique.
La boutique has 3 levels which can be accessed by a lift or stairs. Each level is different and all is good quality and in expensive items. Lisa prides herself on the relationships she has developed direct with suppliers both here in Spain and in the UK. She admitted the buying process for the store started over 3 years ago to the point they had to open soon as they were running out of storage space both in the warehouse and her and José’s’ apartment. Jose has controlled the build project and Lisa all the buying and displaying. They have both worked hard to overcome various setbacks, regulations and permissions and finally they opened the store on 20th December 2013. Lisa was happy to report an excellent start which was helped by sales over the festive period in the extensive toys section on the lower floor. However, it wasn’t just the toy section that received praise but also the baking department. This level seems to have any tool or machine to make any creation in the kitchen!
La boutique at present has the gift and home ware department accessed from street level via automatic glass double doors. The lower floor is baking and dinning and the final floor on lower level is the toy, children’s and baby department along with a travel section which incorporates well priced suitcases and bags
Lisa was keen to point out items you may have missed when visiting and encourages you to visit again to see, for example, their beautiful ITAL silverware. These are perfect gift items for the important occasions such as births, weddings and communions. Lisa has also sourced traditional Peter Rabbit Christening sets. She is currently working with a couple of English companies for their kitchen and baking section. Currently Kitchencraft from the UK supply 50% of their stock.
Lisa will constantly strive to improve and evolve each section and current plans for the spring include a party section for all the party products you will ever need from Helium balloons to wedding favors. Plans for a lingerie section and cosy slippers and socks are also underway. Lisa is also talking to “Jane” a new baby products supplier in order to stock their famous “Jane “ prams and baby walkers. Finally, she plans to evolve the bedding section more with more products and styles from European suppliers.
La boutique will also be hosting a variety of events over the coming months. For example on the kitchen level a Vegetarian chef will be providing demonstrations along with bread making, cupcake making and cake decorating demonstrations. On these special days discounts will be available on associated products.
Lisa is bilingual and her role is the ongoing stock purchases and managing of the four staff, Jodie also bilingual and Inma and Lydia who are Spanish. I asked what is next for you both as Jose is not one to stand still? To be honest I didn’t really need to ask this question because of course their next project has to be their wedding this year! Good Luck to them both
