July 26, 2016 Designing Spaces

Volume 11 | Issue 5

As a retailer of high-quality bathroom furnishings and tiles, Grupo Llano de la Torre helps consumers throughout Mexico customize areas in their homes and offices. Rachel Hartman looks at the track record of this growing Mexican company.

Mexico’s housing market is growing faster, in many ways, than that of its northern neighbor. And when consumers want to build a new luxurious or standard home, or remodel their existing one, they often turn to Llano de la Torre. “We’re a multi-brand company that specializes in selling finished products for construction,” says Luis Larreátegui Abarca, general director of the company in Mexico City.

Grupo Llano de la Torre takes on products from top-name providers in Mexico such as Helvex, Cal-o-Rex and Lamosa. It also carries items from well-known international brands like American Standard. “We represent the most important providers both on a national and international basis,” says Larreátegui. “In all, we carry around 10,000 different items.”

The company covers a number of different product lines, all of which are directed toward designing areas in a home, office, or business. Its stores offer a variety of floor coverings and tile patterns to choose from. Grupo Llano de la Torre also sells bathroom furnishings such as sinks, faucets, toilets, mirrors, and other accessories. Additionally, the company represents top brand names in the categories of heaters, water tanks, bath tubs, and various types of sealers needed to install the products. In each of these segments, Llano de la Torre focuses on providing the very best in both quality and design.

A HISTORY OF SUCCESS
Corporate offices for Grupo Llano de la Torre are located in Mexico City, the heart of the country’s central region. The company currently employs around 600 people in its stores and administrative areas. With plans to expand in the near future, the company is getting ready to hire an additional 150 workers during the next five years.

According to Larreátegui, on a national level, Llano de la Torre ranks among the top 10 companies in its market. In the central region of Mexico, however, Llano has become one of the top three companies in its industry. To get there, it has focused on providing customer service that is above and beyond the type many of its competitors offer in the bathroom furnishings market. “We have a promise to deliver products within 48 hours,” Larreátegui notes. “We can even deliver within 24 hours if there is an urgent need for the merchandise.”

To make the fast delivery time possible, Larreátegui explains that the company has an inventory system set up to support quick service. “Our warehouse space covers 35,000 square meters,” he notes. This area is divided among 10 different warehouses, including a universal warehouse in the northern section of the city. The company uses the space to accommodate its ample product line. “In the case of floor coverings, we have a million square meters of product in inventory,” he adds. Keeping this amount of product on hand enables the company to make the quick, hassle-free delivery service it promises to customers.

MADE FOR CUSTOMERS
In the coming years, the company also has plans to change the way it manages and keeps track of inventory via new technology. Doing so will give the company the resources it needs to predict future consumer trends. It will also help Llano de la Torre provide clients with exactly what they want.

While the company expands over the next years, officials want to keep the focus on top-notch customer service. “We offer the complete package to the builder and homeowner when it comes to furnishings,” says Larreátegui. “When they come to our store, they see the whole range of products available to them. They can then use these options to create a comfortable, unique space that defines their style.”

By giving customers the high quality they seek, Llano de la Torre has been able to make a name for itself when it comes to building and remodeling. Its fast delivery service and individual attention have helped it earn a leading position among companies in central Mexico. And Llano plans to keep doing what it does best – keeping customers more than satisfied – during the coming years.

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