Brothers Marcos and Pedro Santos opened the doors of their opticians’ shop and their hearts to us. In the wake of the total refurbishment of their opticians, they told us what they want for the future without ever forgetting the past, and always with one goal in mind: to defend the profession and elevate the optics sector for as long as they exist.

You recently remodeled your store. Why did you do that?

This decision had already been considered during the pandemic… and last year we decided to go ahead, but to do something different. So we asked a team of architects in Leiria, 2L’atelier, to come up with an innovative project that would make a difference. We can say that they were exceptional. They managed to understand what we wanted and, when they presented the project to us, our reaction was immediately “Wow, this is exactly what we want” because we identified perfectly with what had been proposed. The idea was not to be another refurbishment, but something new, a breath of fresh air for us and the city.

And how was the whole project conceived? What kind of concept do you intend to introduce with this refurbishment?

The whole project was initially conceived by 2L’atelier. We simply told them to surprise us! And that’s what they did, they succeeded in presenting something different, innovative, with noble materials. Of course, we then added our personal touch and made some changes to the project to make it more functional, but always in collaboration with 2L’atelier. But the concept was and is all 2L’atelier’s. A concept that allows us to offer different and innovative products, and that awakens a sense of fashion in the people of Leiria. But we didn’t just remodel a space. With the closure of the store in the historic center, we also decided to create a new space for consultations. So we acquired another space, on the second floor of the shopping center where we have the store, and we also created an optometry office with the same concept.

What has been the feedback from customers on this new image?

The feedback has been spectacular. All our customers love the new space, the product differentiation, and the concept. But we should also talk about non-customers, the people who pass by on the street and insist on congratulating us on the store.

Complete interview in ÓpticaPro 246.