Riga Bosques
BoConcept’s Mexico franchiser, Carlos Salamonovitz, is not shy of a challenge. For the build-to-rent project Riga Bosques in Mexico City, the BoConcept team gave it all they got, and then some.
“Riga Bosques is one of the biggest projects we have carried out so far”, confirms Salamonovitz, “But we did it. By staying one step ahead during the entire process, we were able to first of all convince the client to choose our handling and secondly demonstrate throughout the operation that they had made the right choice.”
With four BoConcept stores in the State of Florida, USA, and nine stores in Mexico, Salamonovitz has built up a strong foundation and team for both the retail and the B2B market.
“We see a growing potential in cooperating closely with other professionals which is why we now have a specific department for this range of our work,” says Salamonovitz.
An exclusive tower development
On the west side of Mexico City, the municipality Santa Fe is characterized by its exclusive high-rise buildings and fast urban development, facilitating new business, educational and residential projects since the 1980s. Two majestic new towers have been added to the area recently. Identical in their height and format, the towers, designed by Mexican architect, Enrique Macotela, speak a contemporary architectural language often seen around Northern Europe, with stark squarish features, representing geometry, symmetry and repetition. Behind the realisation of this development, owner and management of the property stands Corporativo Kosmos, in collaboration with Desarrolladora del Parque.
One of the biggest projects for the Mexican BoConcept team
It is in this brand-new structure that BoConcept’s Mexico franchiser, Carlos Salamonovitz, has completed a build-to-rent project, a B2B collaboration with Corporativo Kosmos. No less than 110 rental units have been planned, installed and decorated by the BoConcept Mexico team.
Only one chance
Obtaining the mandate for the Riga Bosques furnishing project did not come easy. Corporativo Kosmos was just about to sign with another company when BoConcept got into the picture. Salamonovitz and his team came in at such a late stage that he knew they had only one chance to demonstrate what they were capable off. Together with the BoConcept B2B team in Denmark, BoConcept Mexico undertook a thorough and precise analysis based on the client’s brief and came out with the winning mandate: complete installation of 110 apartments, furniture and accessories, including the full staging of three apartments, used as show examples at the big project launch. ‘So far, we haven’t gone that far in our projects, sourcing even mattresses and tableware, but we really wanted to present what our skilled team is capable off’, says Salamonovitz.
Build-to-rent popular in Mexico
Riga Bosques is a build-to-rent concept, aimed at tenants who wish to live in brand new surroundings, easily and comfortably, in a residence with a long list of services and advantages, such as swimming pool, gym, yoga centre, coffee lounge, sky lounge, co-working, social bar and pet-area. Plenty of outdoor areas with terrasses, barbeques and gardens are also at their disposal. “It has become increasingly popular to build rental projects in Mexico. In this post-pandemic era, we experience that the mindset of the consumers have changed and that they are less concerned with personal belongings or possessions. It’s more affordable for them not to be tied to a house or to some piece of land if they plan to be moving from one city to the next,” explains project manager at Corporativo Kosmos, Juan José Lecanda.
Chic and Modern mood
With 17 different apartment typologies, Riga Bosques turns towards a variety of tenant types, yet all apartments are fitted with appliances and built-in elements in elegant materials, the basics already setting a certain standard.
Convincing customer service
Most of BoConcepts furniture is made in Europe which offers extra logistical challenges for projects overseas.
“With Riga Bosques, we needed to be both flexible and inventive to make everything run as smoothly as possible. We don’t keep a large stock of products in Mexico so every piece for the project came in from Europe in dedicated containers. As a franchiser we are responsible for the import and what happens to the lot as soon as it hits the harbour. You have to be very organised in terms of timing and distribution; that is part of our all-round customer service,” says Salamonovitz.
At the outset of the project, Corporativo Kosmos were not only looking for a good price or an excellent quality but rather a multitude of criteria, starting with a good customer service experience.
Lecanda elaborates: “This is a rental market and we know our clients will not be taking care of the furniture as if it was theirs. That’s why, at first, we had slight concerns knowing BoConcept mainly for their stylish design furniture but after having had long conversations with Carlos around this topic, we felt safe knowing that the brand will answer and take care of any issues we may see. Production and delivery times have also been really important for this project; timing has been key for its success. We feel comfortable working with BoConcept to the point that we have already chosen them for further projects in Guadalajara, Acapulco and various cities in Mexico.”