MILAN, Apr 10 (Class Editori) – "In recent years we have invested heavily in the US, which today is worth more than 30 million dollars, but today we carefully look at the development of India, China and Singapore, markets where we are already present and for which we have studied ad hoc strategies", said Piero Gandini – Flos brand CEO, well known for his lamps, and the Design holding chairman, one of the major Italian groups with 530 million of annual turnover – to explane future strategies.
"In India, where we have a team, within the next 12 months we will create a branch while in China we want to grow by focusing on the excellence of Flos products. For what concerns Singapore, we will enhance the work of the team already present with new services and assistance to effectively respond to the needs of the builders community and architects living in the city-state", the manager specified.
The leading Group – active in the furniture with B&B Italia and Louis Poulsen and in lighting with Flos, which in 2016 achieved 226 million euros and with an EBITDA of 25.9% – bases its success on the combination of planning and business. During Milan's ongoing Salone del Mobile, Flos unveiled the new look of its historic store in Corso Monforte in Milan, 260 square meters of surface where the creativity of Konstantin Grcic and Calvi Brambilla illuminated the scene with the blown glass project Noctambule and the showcase with the installation «La plus belle est Philippe Starck», for the presentation of the luminous mirrors of the French architect.
"Flos has always combined cultural avant-garde and business orientation", explained Gandini, a feature that has led it to collaborate with the best designers.
The novelties brought to the Salone, exhibited in the new S.Project pavilion, are the WireLine suspension lamp by Formafantasma, the innovative systems of Innovative light systems by Michael Anastassiades, and the new edition of the Chiara lamp by Mario Bellini to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first creation.
"Light is a territory of constant experimentation which must also be able to reflect the market evolution. Until today, it has been sufficient to divide the proposals into product, architectural, decorative and outdoor catalogs. These segmentations, in a world where the very use of objects has become transversal – just think of the office that is increasingly a home and vice versa – you need to write a new language, able to adapt to new needs. Therefore we are evaluating which is the best way to evolve, integrating technology and the control of light sources, but also thinking of products capable of communicating also with the interior décor", concluded Gandini.
With a 3.7% share of the international market, it is the fourth largest supplier after China. But unlike competitors, such as Germany, Mexico and the US, it has the highest trade surplus confirming the high added value of the Made in Italy lighting products. "The figures show a substantial balance, but we are counting on exports, which according to estimates involve 75% of production, especially towards France, Germany (+1.2%) US which overtook the United Kingdom", explained Stefano Bordone, the Assoluce chairman, who sees a great deal of uncertainty about the future of the internal market.
And China? "It is certainly an opportunity despite customs barriers and certifications, which are both complex and expensive".
(Source:Class Editori)
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