The Italian Job

JACOB SARDINI OPENS FIRST MIDDLE EAST RETAIL SHOWROOM AND DESIGN STUDIO

UAE: Jacob Sardini, an Italian firm with a range of contemporary furniture, fittings, lights and bathroom supplies, has opened an office in Dubai.

It plans to expand to other countries and is currently in negotiations with India, Pakistan, Iraq, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

"The Jacob Sardini store is an interior design studio with a retail element and is the first of its kind in the Middle East. We oversee almost everything - floors, furniture, and lighting," said Tomas Hoog, business development manager.

He said the new store wants to provide a flexible design service for customers in the region as it felt there was a need for it.

Stas

"We recently had a customer who had a flooring issue. We found out a well known company here had installed the floor for thousands of dirhams but when there was a problem, it couldnt help. We offered to step in, and obviously the customer was happy about that."

"We have modern and classic styles of furniture. Our USP is we can customise any piece you see in the showroom," said Hoog. "For example, if a sofa a customer likes is 2 metres long and they actually want it to be 2 metres and 10 inches, we can do it for them, and even change the fabrics if they want. The good thing about what we can offer is, compared to other places, our price will not be significantly higher," said Evelin Novikova, executive assistant.

The store works on fit - outs and provides architectural drawings for private villas, palaces, commercial, apartments and more. It has an in - house 3D designer, whose services are free for customers who buy Jacob Sardini products.

Another of its offerings is bathroom fit - outs. "Bathrooms used to be dirty rooms hidden away. Today they are a part of the living area. People want their bathroom to be stylish, created in an open space and similar to a home spa. Customers are realising bathrooms are important and this trend is coming to the UAE," said Hoog.