SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Recently in San Juan, you would think a celebration had just taken place. And it did, with the grand opening of a new store. City Electric Supply (CES), a company with over 1,000 branches around the world, opened a store on the island, and they did so with style.
With more than 100 people in attendance, Branch Manager Beatriz Cintron and the CES team had surprises up their sleeves for customers the entire day. The band Son Plena y Tumbao came to surprise guests right in the middle of lunch; starting in the middle of the parking lot, the band walked through the showroom, and the warehouse, to where people were eating, singing a song that translates to “City Electric Supply, welcome to Puerto Rico!”
“We’re very patriotic here in Puerto Rico, and CES respects that so much,” said Cintron. “They let me celebrate my culture with CES, and it’s awesome. It was great having the team share our traditions with us.”
Customers were coming inside to shop, and the next thing they knew, it was a party! With food for everyone to eat, and the Puerto Rican flag patched on the CES shirts, Cintron is so thankful to CES for letting the Puerto Rican culture be included in this special event.
Vendors started arriving at the grand opening as early as 7:30 in the morning to make sure they were set up in the best possible spot for customers. With big red tents catching people’s attention on the street corner, customers were constantly pulling up to the store.
At the event, new customers were exploring with curiosity; being able to see a great number of people at the grand opening was really special for CES. The Director of the Department of Transportation was also there on behalf of the mayor to join in the festivities with everyone.
For Cintron, the first female branch manager on the island, the success of the grand opening had personal meaning.
“I just feel like with City Electric Supply, I have so much opportunity to grow as a professional and as an individual. I feel very proud that CES gave me this opportunity, especially as a woman in this industry,” said Cintron. “I wouldn’t trade my time at CES for any other career or experience. I feel really proud of everything that we are accomplishing. The future definitely looks bright for CES here. We’re going to do great things.”
While the team around Cintron is young, they are motivated to make strides for themselves and Puerto Rico. By talking to customers, making sales, and being immersed in the atmosphere of the grand opening allowed them to experience the passion that Cintron has for CES.
“I have a young team. I always want to motivate them to make careers here. I want them to grow as I grow and as the company grows. This event made them feel like part of the family, and that’s what I always want them to understand. I want them to feel the passion I feel for the company,” said Cintron.
Just when you thought the fun would stop, the special day also included a fundraising event to help raise money for Make-A-Wish®. The most recent partnership that City Electric Supply has with Make-A-Wish was made possible by its social impact program, CES Cares. CES is a proud national partner of Make-A-Wish and supports its goal of granting life-changing wishes to children with critical illnesses.
“CES Cares was created to help employees give back to causes they care about in their communities. Make-A-Wish gives them the opportunity to do that as the funds raised at each branch create a positive impact on wish kids and their families living in their community,” said Social Impact Manager for CES Cares Karen Gray.
More than $1,500 was raised for Make-A-Wish during the counter day event.
With all of this momentum, the CES team has no plans of stopping anytime soon. Cintron and the team already have exciting projects in the works. Currently, Cintron is working on a huge lighting project with border patrol for all cruise and merchant ships coming to and from the island.
Not only this, but Cintron and the Department of Transportation discussed opportunities to help the municipality in the area.
“We have so many opportunities. We’ve been quoting solar, conduit, and everything. And I have a great team to help them. The guys are doing an amazing job, and we couldn’t happier working together,” said Cintron.
“CES is thrilled to now have a physical presence on the island of Puerto Rico in the electrical wholesale industry,” said CES Co-Chief Operating Officer John Gray. “This branch has accomplished so much already in its first few months of being open, and we are excited to see the growth our teams are capable of as they establish relationships with such great customers.”
“We want to let everyone in Puerto Rico know that we are a service-first company and look forward to servicing the entire community,” said Regional Manager Mike Bertone. “We are so excited about the success of our first location on the island that we are already in the process of opening location number two. We have always said this is a people business and we had to have the right people at the right time to start our journey in Puerto Rico.”
“The fact that we were able to acquire CES Branch Manager Jeffrey Delgado who is originally from the island and has over 30 years of experience in the market is why we decided to move into Puerto Rico,” said District Manager Aramis Montenegro. “Our initial goal was to have one branch, mission accomplished. Our current long-term goal is to continue opening branches and become a strong distributor in Puerto Rico. It’s a wonderful feeling to be in a new place and creating new opportunities with customers, vendors, and employees.”
