Do you need a 'Villarejo kit'?

At La tienda del espía –on Carrer d’Aragó, almost at the corner with Balmes– almost 100% of the people who enter do so because they have a problem. It could be work-related or sentimental, of course, but also related to the care of the elderly, theft, problematic neighbors, and personal insecurities. Núria Mir is the manager and admits that she often acts as a psychologist as well. “Very few people come in here to buy Christmas presents; most come to solve headaches.”

Espionage is a movie concept that, in reality, has little to do with the needs of the business’s usual clientele. Despite this, the shop has a sense of humor as an important part of its personality, a strategy to downplay worries. There are photos of 007, yes indeed, but also of Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible, Get Smart, and Johnny English, that spy lookalike of Mr. Bean. The question “Who are we spying on today?” presides over a shop where you can acquire a fun “Villarejo kit” that includes a beret, briefcase, recorder, and rearview glasses!

The spy shop was opened by entrepreneur Antonio Duran in 1992. First in Madrid and then, coinciding with the Olympic Games, in Barcelona. The first location was on the ground floor of the Hotel Arts, then on General Mitre – which closed after Covid – and now the only one is the one on Aragó. They keep the ones in Madrid and Bilbao. The first thing Núria Mir explains to us is that technology has changed a lot over the years. Before, everything was much more cumbersome and now a small recorder takes up very little space. Prices have also changed; today, the advancement of technology has democratized prices quite a bit.

What is it that people ask for the most? She is clear about it: devices that record sound and/or images. The examples are varied. Recordings of work meetings due to mobbing problems. Parental control on the mobile phone, which is also a form of espionage. Couples who are separating and want to prove or refute received attitudes and accusations. “The most common reason is work-related issues,” explains Núria. Monitoring of employees, for example. Theft of money from the cash register or expensive products in the restaurant industry.

And which devices are the best-sellers? The small ones. Cameras inserted into a car key, a pen, a pen drive... which can be easily hidden in the double bottom of a backpack or a piece of clothing. Locators to be able to prove that someone is not where they say they are at the time they say. Valid for both infidelities and for sales representatives who do not follow the routes assigned to them. And other needs, such as neighborhood meetings or doctor visits. “What people need is to clear up their doubts,” she emphasizes. And she highlights an unexpected situation: “Recording others creates an addiction; sometimes they look for one thing and find another unexpected one.”

They also have a clientele within the guild of private investigators who, at the same time, are good providers of clients recommended by them. Or lawyers who send clients who need to proceed with some kind of surveillance or recording. “Knowing why they need the equipment can help us guide them better, then there are people who vent and you end up acting a bit like a psychologist”. A topic that is now, sadly, also trending is the monitoring of caregivers and nursing homes for the elderly. To address and prove possible abuses or mistreatment. A watch with a camera can serve, at the same time, to prove a false report of mistreatment.

Now in many work meetings, they don't let mobile phones in. Solution? Camouflage a recorder in a tie. They are also asked for many personal defense items, such as the famous pepper spray. But that must be bought at a gun shop. During the pandemic, the famous concept of “citizen police” emerged, which generated a lot of demand. Furthermore, many people realized they were suffering from infidelities. Today, many cameras are sold to monitor possible squatting of second homes. Manias and phobias? Also. People convinced that they will be broken into at home or who suffer from persecutory mania.

Almost everything that can be found at La tienda del espia is manufactured in China and Korea. A pen drive goes for 200 euros. A car key, 185. A pen, 155. And a watch, 260.