B&B Italia SpA is an Italian modern furniture company whose products are sold worldwide. The company was founded in 1966 by Piero Ambrogio Busnelli,[1] and is owned by his descendants who manage the company. On March 1, 2011, the Busnelli family became majority shareholders of the company once again and now own 100% of the shares.[2]
UP chair designed by Gaetano Pesce (1969)UP 5 and UP 6 designed by Gaetano Pesce
The United States subsidiary, B&B Italia USA Inc., is located in Manhattan, New York in the Architects and Designers Building above their American flagship store in midtown.[3]
B&B Italia has won four Compasso d'oro (Golden Compasses), the most prestigious Italian Design award. In 1979 Le Bambole Mario Bellini, 1984 Sisamo Studio Kairos, 1987 Sity Antonio Citterio, and in 1989 B&B Italia became the first company to be recognized with a Compasso d'oro directly awarded to a design manufacturing company. Since 1966 there have been over 1,000 B&B Italia designs (including prototypes).
Over 3% of B&B Italia's annual sales is reinvested in research and development. In 2010, a foaming department for upholstery was established with an investment of 4 million euros.[4]
From the entry of The Carlyle Group into Investindustrial's design plan, Design Holding was born in September 2018 with the aim of creating the Italian hub of high-end interior design and then becoming it internationally. The brands already controlled by Investindustrial are part of the new company, led by Gabriele Del Torchio: Flos, B&B Italia and the Danish Louis Poulsen.[5]
The B&B Italia group owns the B&B Italia, Maxalto, Azucena and Arclinea brands and reached 201.4 million in revenues in 2019 with exports accounting for over 80%. Sales in 80 countries through a network of 10 flagship stores, 70 single-brand stores and 1000 resellers.[6]
Collections
B&B Italia has two divisions; the Home Division (focused on the residential market) and the Contract Division (for hospitality, marine, retail and offices). There are two brands; B&B Italia and Maxalto. Within B&B Italia there are four collections.
B&B Italia Home: Defined by products such as the Up Series Chair by Gaetano Pesce, the Charles Sofa by Antonio Citterio, Tufty Time by Patricia Urquiola and The Moon System Sofa by Zaha Hadid, the B&B Italia Home Collection is the base upon which the company was built.[7]
Maxalto: The Maxalto Collection was established in 1975. The collection includes products with shapes drawing inspiration from the typologies and styles of French design between the two World Wars.[8] Maxalto is a line of interior furnishings designed and coordinated by Antonio Citterio. Maxalto is often sold within B&B Italia stores but has in the last decade established itself more and more as its own brand. The first stand alone Maxalto store opened in Paris, France. In 2008 the first monobrand store in the US opened in Chicago, Illinois, followed soon after by Miami, Florida.
There are four collections within Maxalto: Apta, Simplice, AC and, released in 2010, Acro. Maxalto was featured in 2008 in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace.[citation needed]
B&B Italia Outdoor: Designed for indoor/outdoor living. It started with Canasta by Patricia Urquiola in 2007. Since then, the collection has grown to include pieces by Jean-Marie Massaud and Marcel Wanders in addition to new pieces by Patricia Urquiola and Atelier Oï. New products for the line are being designed by Naoto Fukasawa and Antonio Citterio.
B&B Italia Project: The Project Collection is a range of tables, chairs and soft seating for the contract market. It is often used in workplaces, restaurants, hotels, and public spaces.[7]
B&B Italia Object: The Object Collection includes vases, trays, bowls, pillows, lighting and accessories.
B&B Italia Contract: The B&B Italia Contract Division handles the “turnkey” projects for furnishings and/or layout in hotel areas, offices, retail, institutions, stores, cruise liners, etc. The Contract Division manages contracts for furnishings, from projects to logistics and from materials procurement to installation. The Contract Division has completed the newly opened W Retreat and Spa of Vieques Island designed with Patricia Urquiola and The Nieuw Amsterdam Luxury Cruise Line for Holland America with 1564 cabins. It was launched in Venice on July 4. Future projects include the W Hotel St. Petersburg designed by Antonio Citterio and two exclusive resorts in Greece.
MOOOI: B&B Italia owns 25% of the design company Moooi. Moooi is a Dutch company for which Marcel Wanders serves as co-owner and art director and Casper Vissers as co-owner and CEO.[9][bettersourceneeded]
Distribution: B&B Italia and Maxalto have 750 points of sale worldwide including seven flagship stores (Milan, London, Munich, Paris, Chicago and two in New York), 20 monobrand stores and over 70 "Shop-in-Shops".[citation needed]
Alessi is a housewares and kitchen utensil company in Italy, manufacturing and marketing everyday items authored by a wide range of designers, architects, and industrial designers — including Achille Castiglioni, Richard Sapper, Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass, Wiel Arets, Zaha Hadid, Toyo Ito, Tom Kovac, Greg Lynn, MVRDV, Jean Nouvel, UN Studio, Michael Graves, and Philippe Starck. The Alessi company in the UK is worth around £2.4 million.
Esprit Holdings Limited is a global publicly traded retail company located in Hong Kong, North Point, with its creative headquarters located in New York City, inclusive of design, branding, and marketing. The company offers an assortment of clothing, accessories, footwear, jewelry, and housewares under the Esprit label.
Richard Sapper was a German industrial designer who was based in Milan, Italy for much of his career. He is considered one of the most influential designers of his generation. His products typically feature a combination of technical innovation, simplicity of form, and an element of wit and surprise. He received numerous international design awards, including 11 Compasso d'Oro awards and the Raymond Loewy Foundation's Lucky Strike Designer Award. Examples of his work are held in many museums around the world, including the Victoria and Albert (V&A) and Design Museum in London, the Pompidou Center in Paris, the ADI Design Museum in Milan, and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, which counts over 17 of Sapper's designs in its collection.
Antonio Citterio is an Italian architect, furniture designer and industrial designer who lives and works in Milan.
Naoto Fukasawa is a Japanese designer, author, and educator, working in the fields of product and furniture design. He is known for his product design work with the Japanese retail company Muji, as well as collaborations with companies such as Herman Miller, Alessi, B&B Italia, Emeco, Magis, and HAY.
Patricia Urquiola Hidalgo is a Spanish architect, industrial designer and art director.
Jean-Marie Massaud is a French architect, inventor and designer. He was born in Toulouse, France in 1966.
Technogym is a company selling equipment and digital technologies for fitness, sport and health based in Cesena, Italy. Technogym has been Official Supplier to eight Olympic Games including the Tokyo 2020 games. The company was founded in 1983 by Nerio Alessandri.
Natuzzi S.p.A. is an Italian furniture company founded in 1959 by Pasquale Natuzzi, currently the group's Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. The company designs, produces and markets sofas, armchairs, living room accessories and bedroom furniture. Natuzzi is one of Italy's largest furniture houses and company with a global reach in its sector. With a global retail network of 703 mono-brand stores and 508 galleries as of December 31, 2022, and with manufacturing plants in Italy, China, Romania and Brazil to efficiently serve different markets, Natuzzi distributes its collections worldwide. Natuzzi products embody the finest spirit of Italian design and the unique craftmanship details of the “Made in Italy”, as a predominant part of its production takes place in Italy. In 1993, Natuzzi Group became the only foreign furniture company to list on Wall Street. It is headquartered in Santeramo in Colle, Apulia, Italy.
Lodovico Migliore, nicknamed Ico, is an Italian architect, designer, professor and former professional ice hockey player. He is professor at the School of Design of the Polytechnic University of Milan and he is Chair Professor of the College of Design at Busan Dongseo University in South Korea. He served as chairman of Hockey Milano Rossoblu, an ice hockey team in Elite.A based out of Milan, Italy from 2010 to 2016. He also competed in the men's tournament at the 1984 Winter Olympics.
Flexform SpA is an Italian company with its head office in Meda, Italy, at the centre of the furniture production district of La Brianza. Founded in 1959 by the Galimberti brothers, the company designs, produces and markets furniture and furnishing accessories for residential and public use.
Moooi is a Dutch furniture, interior, and lighting modern design company. It was founded by Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers in the Netherlands in 2001.
Margherita Servetto, better known as Mara, is an Italian architect and designer.
Franca Helg was an Italian designer and architect. She also had a career teaching at Istituto Universitario Architettura Venezia and Polytechnic of Milan. She collaborated with Franco Albini from 1945 through 1977.
Coalesse is a United States-based furniture company founded in 2008. It is a division of Steelcase and creates products with the goal of encouraging collaboration. Coalesse is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan with their design headquarters in San Francisco and their main showroom located in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago.
Salvatori is an Italian design brand specialising in natural stone such as marble, limestone and sandstone.
Marva Griffin is an arts administrator, curator, and founder of the SaloneSatellite exhibition at the annual Milan Furniture Fair in Italy. She has been described as, "the mastermind behind the world’s largest design fair [and] an outspoken friend to undiscovered designers."
↑ Roberto Monelli (May–June 2003). "Bold & Beautiful". [Frame, international interior design magazine]. Archived from the original on 15 October 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
↑ "Buyers Guide". [Interior Design Magazine]. Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
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