Noviglio Claudio Luti doesn’t want to hear about the dying of the inner cities. “I’ve always had a different opinion,” says the head of the Italian design brand Kartell. Trade? For him, it continues to take place on site, not just on the Internet. “Our products work through emotions, you have to see them, touch them, sit on them.” He is currently looking for larger stores all over the world: Because the product range is growing, Luti needs more space.
In the corona crisis, people are thinking more about their home again. Furniture manufacturers and design brands benefit from this in particular. “Since the pandemic, people have been working more from home. Many want to live better there than before, and also more functionally, ”says Luti, who is the second generation to manage the design icon.
The company from Noviglio, a small community in the south of Milan, also suffered from the pandemic: Several branches were closed in lockdown. On the other hand, the online business picked up significantly, having recently grown by around 30 percent. At the same time, people were spending less on clothing and suddenly had more money to spend on furnishings – that also helped the industry.
“We have seen a real boom in retail sales since May that surprised even me,” says the 75-year-old. Kartell was not only able to recapture the corona losses. In all likelihood, sales this year will be more than 100 million euros – that would be a new record. In 2019, sales were still at 83 million euros, in 2020 almost 84 million euros, despite the pandemic.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Italy’s entire furniture industry is currently growing
Kartell is not alone in this. The entire Italian furniture industry is on the upswing. According to the Federlegno Arredo Association, sales in the first half of the year increased by more than 50 percent compared to the previous year. Also compared to 2019 there is an increase of around 14 percent.
The new furnishing trend is global. At Kartell, 75 percent is exported; the company delivers to more than 140 countries. Even if the bestsellers continue to be chairs and tables: there is now upholstered furniture for the living room and lamps, as well as design classics, small objects, accessories – the selection is growing ever wider.
And it’s getting greener: the round “Componibili” container with sliding doors, which has been in the range since 1967 and stands for the brand like no other product, was already available in 1994 in a recycled version. “That was associated with a lot of risk at the time,” says Luti. The recycled plastic was not pure enough, the material sometimes destroyed the machines.
The furniture made from recycled plastic now has almost the same aesthetics as the original. Kartell also processes biodegradable plastic today. Little by little, Luti wants to add an organic and a recycling version to the entire product range. Even today, 40 percent of sales come from green products. The company now works with much more wood than before.
Nonetheless, Luti continues to stick to traditional plastic – the material that made the company big and famous. “It is absolutely suitable for furniture, the plastics only have to be processed to a high quality,” says the entrepreneur. The emissions during production are already very low, and the composition is changing more and more. “There are already polycarbonates with 65 or 70 percent plant content.”
Luti was once the head of the Versace fashion house
The chemist Giulio Castelli could only dream of this when he founded the company in 1949. His wife Anna Ferrieri, a trained architect, later became chief designer. In 1988, Luti, the son-in-law, took over the executive chair. He came from the fashion world at the time, ran the Versace brand for years and was a close advisor to the legendary fashion designer Gianni Versace. From there, Luti took over the idea of the flagship store. Kartell operates 150 today, plus there are 850 partner shops.
“Kartell has been well placed in the household utensils and small furniture segment since the late 1950s,” says Kuno Prey, professor of product design at the Free University of Bolzano. “Founder Castelli has worked skillfully with good designers and creatively and intelligently exploited the possibilities of the still relatively new plastics.” However, he thinks little of the new biomaterials. “We should rather consider: What other products does our society need?”
Like her parents-in-law, Luti maintains a close relationship with well-known designers with whom the brand works. In the end, however, many meetings had to give way to video calls. That only worked to a limited extent. “I’m glad that we can meet again now,” says Luti. “I just widened an armchair by an inch earlier. I have to sit on it, touch it, talk to the designer about details, that just doesn’t work online. ”
The French star designer Philippe Starck comes to northern Italy about every three weeks. Kartell has been working with the Frenchman for decades, and many of his designs have won awards. “He comes, we talk, look at the products, change something. You look each other in the eye and know whether you are satisfied or not, ”enthuses Luti.
The 72-year-old Starck is always open to new ideas. In 2019 he launched the first Kartell chair that was created on the computer – with a combination of Starck’s ideas and artificial intelligence.
His two children are supposed to take over
The exchange with creative people, the meticulous work on the product: that’s exactly what Luti loves about his job. The economist has become a design expert himself. And as a role model for the industry: from 2017 onwards, he led the Salone del Mobile, Italy’s most important furniture fair in Milan. It was not until the spring that he gave up the post because of disputes with the board of directors. That did not spoil the desire for one’s own company. Luti drives it “with joy” to the office every day. The next generation has long been ready.
It’s a long-prepared move. Daughter Lorenza and son Federico already wrote their diploma theses on the “generation change at Kartell”. But Luti never forced her to join the company, it was a free decision. The plan is for the siblings to take over together. “They complement each other very well and have always played different roles in the company,” says Claudio Luti. Federico is currently responsible for global business as Sales Director. Lorenza, on the other hand, focused on product and strategy.
The senior still does not want to talk about an exit date. “It’s not that I don’t have any free time,” says Luti. “But I like the work, it satisfies me.”
More: While Germany is still debating mandatory 3G at work, it has been a reality in Italy for weeks.