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Ana's Video — Who We Are
Ana Garcia
Founder of A Loja do Avô
WHO WE ARE · A FAMILY STORY
A letter to Portuguese families
Why A Loja do Avô Exists
You are not alone.
It is a privilege to be able to help you find the most suitable solution for your family.
“The true answer has my grandmother’s face. It has my mother’s hands. And it continues, even today, to arrive every morning at our shop with my father’s enthusiasm.”
The question and the origin
For over twenty years I have been asked: “Why did you decide to create A Loja do Avô?”
For a long time, I responded with market research and statistics. I explained that Portugal was ageing and that better answers needed to be provided to older people and their families. All of this is true. But that was never the complete answer.
It all started when my grandmother fell ill. Until then, ageing was a distant reality. Suddenly, I began to experience what thousands of Portuguese families experience every day.
I saw my mother care for her mother with a dedication I will never forget: adjusting a cushion so she could breathe better, holding her hand, cutting her hair so that hygiene would be less of a burden. Small gestures that say everything about love.
I also saw the other side: the exhaustion, the doubts, the difficulty in finding reliable information. When a family member loses their autonomy, it is not just one person who changes. It is the whole family. And, precisely when they need help the most, they often do not know where to find it.
I then realised that caring for those we love is one of the greatest demonstrations of love. And that no family should have to walk that path alone. That is where the first seed of this project was born.
More than equipment
Later, I studied this field, visited several countries, sought to learn from those who excelled at it, and brought back to Portugal equipment and solutions that were then little known. I quickly realised that equipment is important. Very important.
But what truly transforms a family’s life is knowing that someone is there to listen, guide them, and help them decide. That was the mission I set for myself: to create much more than a store. A place where every family can find knowledge, confidence, carefully selected equipment, and professionals ready to advise on the right solution for every situation.
Today, more than twenty years later, we open the door every day for the same reason. Because we never see just a piece of equipment.
We see a mother. A father. A grandfather. A grandmother.
A person who deserves to live with greater comfort, independence, safety and dignity. And a family that only wants to do the best for those they love.
Why “Grandpa’s Shop”?
When I brought this concept to Portugal, I kept the translated name of the Spanish company La Tienda del Abuelo, which its founder created as a tribute to his own grandfather. Over the years, the name has taken on a much deeper meaning for me.
I usually respond with a smile:
“Grandpa’s Shop has a grandfather’s name, but it was born from a granddaughter’s love for her grandmother and her deep admiration for a mother who taught me, every day, the true meaning of the word care.”
Today I think of all grandfathers and all grandmothers. Of all fathers and mothers who one day come to need their children's help. And, above all, of the families who do everything they can to provide greater comfort, independence and dignity to those they love most.
That is what this name came to represent. Much more than a company: a way of caring.
The people who bring this project to life
One company can sell the same equipment as another, represent the same brands and even charge similar prices. What will never be the same are the people. Trust is built over time, and our greatest asset has never been a warehouse full of equipment. It has always been the people.
A company made by people, for people.
Behind every piece of advice, every delivery and every service, there is a team that understands the responsibility of helping a family at an important moment in their lives.
Experience and continuity
Each date marks the beginning of the work of an area of the team. More than years, they represent the experience and continuity of the people who care for families every day.
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Antonieta
Administration and rentals
With us since 2006
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Jorceline
Home support
With us since 2007
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Marta
Geriatric Consultant and Customer Support
With us since 2008
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Bruno
Geriatric Consultant in-store
With us since 2023
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Mr. Gracia
Sales and Warehouse Manager
With us since 2015
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Sérgio
Logistics and Installation Manager
With us since 2020
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Sandra
Marketing
With us since 2007
Many of the professionals who provide home care have been with us for several years, so that families find familiar faces and continuity in care. Because caring also means building human relationships.
Ana's father
There is one person who embodies what we believe in like no other: my father. He turned 88 this year. After a lifetime of work, he could be enjoying retirement, but he still chooses to get up early and come into the shop. He greets customers. He chats. He listens. He smiles. And he reminds us every day that growing old doesn't mean you stop being useful.
For many years, he was the one who personally delivered the equipment to families in Lisbon and Cascais. He knew people by name, went into their homes, helped install each piece of equipment, and only left when he was sure everything was okay. With the COVID-19 pandemic, it was no longer possible to continue safely, so my brother took over this task. Since then, every Tuesday and Thursday, he travels mainly around Lisbon and Cascais, bringing not only equipment, but the same personal touch and dedication that have always been part of how we care for others.
We learned one simple thing: equipment improves the quality of life, but it is always people who make the real difference.
Perhaps that is why so many families continue to trust us—some for more than twenty years, others already into the second generation. It is a trust we never take for granted and one we strive to deserve every day.
Our commitment
At Loja do Avô, we never see just a customer. We always see a person. A story. A family.
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We listen first.
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We advise responsibly.
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We do everything in our power to find the solution that best meets the needs of those we love most.
This is how it has been since 2004. This is how we continue today. And this is how we want to continue for many years.
With love,
Ana Garcia, founder of A Loja do Avô
Dedication
I dedicate this story to my grandmother, who inspired this journey; to my mother, who taught me that caring is one of the greatest demonstrations of love a human being can offer; and to my father, who every day reminds me that age never limits the desire to live, to help, and to make a difference in someone's life.
Without them, A Loja do Avô would never have existed. And without the thousands of families who have trusted us over more than twenty years, we also would not be who we are today. To all of them, my most sincere thank you.
