Boffi|DePadova strengthens its presence in the Australian market with the opening of the new Boffi|DePadova Studio Sydney showroom. The location chosen for the new display is the stylish and cultural area of Surry Hills, with its thriving creative scene and eclectic energy.

The showromm has a surface of 373mq, where the juxtaposition of the classic exterior and industrial interior complement each other and create a theatrical backdrop for the Boffi and ADL interior systems, along with De Padova’s furniture and lighting icons.

The location features wide windows that allow the passage of natural light, while also engaging the passersby to experience a subtle taste of the Boffi|DePadova’s way of living.

For the new opening of 2020 Boffi has chosen important locations. One of the latest id Miami, where Boffi|DePadova opened a new store in the city Design District.
The 600-sqm space is designed to integrate Boffi systems, De Padova contemporary furnishings, the architectural partitioning solutions from ADL and pieces from the Time & Style ēdition collection, the new partnership established with Japanese company Time & Style.
The iconic mood is captured by an industrial ambiance of informal hues made of charcoal grey and stainless steel that dominate the layout and frame the shapes, colours, combinations and materials selected by the Boffi|DePadova creative direction.
According with the CEO Roberto Gavazzi, this operation is “the latest example of the ability of Boffi|DePadova to combine elements with different philosophies and points of view into a truly unique project.”  
«With the Boffi|DePadova flagship store in Miami – Gavazzi explains – we are introducing our fifth direct showroom in the US. Our concept of internationalization is not just marked by quantitative growth, but also by the desire to proudly show off our know-how and the many combinations of different worlds that can coexist: kitchens and bathrooms systems integrating with the most prestigious decor and the most innovative technologies.»

Another step to the internationalization has been made by Boffi and De Padova, the two famous Italian brands of kitchen and furnishing that at the and of the last year opened a new showroom in Spain. This time, the choice has been the capital, Madrid, second locations for the two companies in the Iberian region, after the opening of another showroom in Barcelona.
The location in Madrid is an industrial-inspired space of 160-sqm, featuring a variety of interior scenes where the most creative and exclusive proposals from Boffi, De Padova, MA / U Studio and ADL combine together.
Located on Calle Jorge Juan 43, in the heart of the Salamanca district in Madrid, the space was designed by the Style Department of Boffi | De Padova in order to serve as a benchmark for architects, interior designers and design aficionados.
With this new opening in Madrid, Boffi | De Padova consolidates its presence in Spain and confirms its position as a reference in the design of high quality collections for every area of the home.

According to New York Times, Amazon is thinking to the opening of physical stores worldwide where selling home appliances and furniture. The choice of these kind of products would be driven by the fact that they are among those ones that people generally like less to buy on-line. The operation could bring a new big competitor to the big appliances chains of many countries, also because Amazon will probably introduce appealing technological tools to show consumers how products will look in their home and so on. The electronics shop format could remember something like the Apple store, with Echo smart home speaker and Prime Video streaming service. Many times in the past, the company affirmed the intention of consider different ways to extend its business, including physical store, that could also empower the Amazon delivering service on the territory.

At the last edition of IMM Cologne 2016 Lapalma, Italian company of design furniture, presented its new products and ideal solutions both for an “open house” and a “light office”. The new catalog of the society includes new products and extensions of the old lines, with new colors and materials. La Palma offers a big range of proposals for the house, the office or the contract area, all characterized by versatility and modularity to create unusual combinations always in the sign of comfort. “Easy living, easy working” is the philosophy of the brand, that sees in both the areas common trends, such as the search of simple, adaptable, innovative solutions, with a strong personality and at the same time relaxing, built on customers’ tastes and specific needs.

The 1060 wood table was one the protagonists of the last edition of Imm Cologne. Designed by Jorre van Ast for Thonet it stands out for the lightness and sophisticated aesthetics of the curved wood, historical prerogative of the German company. This solid table with rectangular top is characterized by its simplicity, with its rounded corners and beveled lower edges. The refined and essential structure, the flowing, soft, organic lines of the individual wooden components give a contemporary and light style to this table, ideal both for the dining room of the house and for the meeting rooms.

From 18 to 24 January imm cologne will show the new trends in the furnishing and interior sector: the latest international proposals from self-assembly furniture to premium brands and visionary product designs. The event will present a wide variety of interior design ideas for every room, style and requirement – from the basics to designer items and luxury furnishings. A special area will also be dedicated to the new smart solutions. The exhibition will pass through eleven megatrends, that are defining the standards for living and the effects on the product furniture: connectivity, female shift, silver society, mobility, neo-ecology, health, new work, urbanisation, individualisation, globalisation and new learning.

Bookworm is an innovative flexible bookshelf created by Kartell with a very original concept. It is available in three different lengths and many colors variations. It is marked by a serious of bookend supports, combining flexibility and a great durability that allows for a load of around 10 kg for each support. Thanks to a careful analysis of extrusion technology this curvy bookcase can assume any desired shape, without compromising toughness and functionality. So, unlimited shapes can be formed. Bookworm is available in sea blue, white, yellow, black, pink, wine red, aluminium and blue.

All over the world Made-in-Italy continues to be a brand that represents quality, design and care for details. Now that the recovery has started, to affirm these values is even more important for Italian companies to strengthen their presence in the global market

by Elena Corti

Elegance, excellence, reliability and originality in design: this is what people expect when they buy a made-in-Italy home appliance, a product that stands out for its attention for detail and quality of materials and processing. A product not only beautiful, but also well done, the result of a know-how combining tradition and innovation, craftsmanship and technology of last generation. In a nutshell, the cultural and industrial expression of a country where beauty is at home. Design research has led the companies in the sector to create aesthetically attractive and refined devices but, at the same time, durable and safe thanks to the use of materials and components that guarantee high performances. In addition, excellence in production processes and technological innovation allow Italian producers to offer to the market solutions of professional level.

Italian companies, for the way they operate, could almost be compared to “boutiques”, because they are often small or medium organizations but large in sophistication and quality.
That of made-in-Italy household appliances is an industrial sector that does not renounce the excellence, despite the difficulties linked to the economic situation, because the “quality product” cannot afford a loss in style, it always must ensure high standards to compete in a sector where too often the “price war” dominates. These standards have been achieved by the Italian players thanks to a know-how that, for many companies, has been developed in a story of half a century, a journey during which companies have grown, establishing themselves not only on the national territory but also in foreign markets. The export orientation is, in fact, one of the strengths of these great little “boutique” of the appliance, which bring made-in-Italy in the world: a distinctive brand that, not by chance, they proudly exhibit on their products and in all that regards the corporate communication.

Encouraging signs from the market

Finally an air of moderate recovery is blowing in the domestic appliances sector and this may be an opportunity to strengthen the presence of made-in-Italy products at a global level, playing on quality appliances with high added value. Exports continue to play a strategic role for Italian companies, which have often faced the weakness of the internal market by focusing on foreign countries, where the Italian style is a status symbol. Emerging nations have become an increasingly important trade channels in recent years, thanks to the presence of the so-called new rich. At the beginning of 2015, the Blog Ulisse website had published a ranking of world markets that an exporter of home system products, oriented to the premium segment, should have considered with particular attention. The ranking was drafted using data collected by the Ulisse Information System, which measures the flow of international trade divided by price range and provides forecasts on the evolution of imports of 153 countries. The ten most attractive countries for exports resulted to be: the US, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, China, Canada, South Korea, France, Poland and Mexico.
Data concerning the world demand for home-furnishing industry in the first half of 2015 largely confirmed what was expected at the beginning of this year. According to information gathered by the Ulisse Information System, the global demand for these products category recorded a growth in value of 12.7% (in euro) compared to the first half of 2014. The US were the driving market, with an increase in imports of 24.6 billion euro in comparison to the corresponding period of 2014 (a trend increase of 28%). The following are: China (+4.2 billion euro, + 23.1%), Mexico (+2.9 billion euro, +25.8%), the UK (+2.8 billion euro, +15.6%) and Canada (+1.6 billion euro, +12%). In the Asian area, in the first half of 2015 imports of products of home-furnishing sector increased also in India (+1.2 billion euro, +30.2%) and Japan (+0.8 billion euro, +4.4%). Positive contributions also came from the Australian market (+1 billion euro, +13.3%), while as regards Europe, we must underline the increase in demand in the Spanish market (+0.84 billion euro, +11%) and Poland (+0.76 billion euro, +11.5%).
Further encouraging signs for those who produce made-in-Italy home appliances come from data on exports of products of the home system from strategic areas in Italy. In the second quarter of 2015, exports from the province of Varese (Lombardy) recorded an increase of 8.9% (in value terms, in euro) compared to the same period of 2014: household appliances had a leading role, reaching an increase of 12.9%. Exports of house-system products are growing also in the province of Brescia, (+6.2%) and Bologna (+ 2.4%).
For what concerns the coming years, according to forecasts by StudiaBo, the global demand for home appliances is expected to grow around 6% average yearly in the period 2015-2017, thus indicating a re-acceleration in global demand for these products.
If foreign markets are a development opportunity for companies of the made-in-Italy, also the domestic market is beginning to show more encouraging signs. In particular, the data collected by Ceced Italia on major appliances for the first eight months of 2015 indicate an increase of sell-in in Italy equal to or greater than 5% for washing machines, free standing refrigerators and dryers.  Ovens are growing instead by 2.9% and hobs by 0.7%. Some positive signs, therefore, are found also in the Peninsula and for made-in-Italy companies this can be a fruitful ground to make emerge the values of a ​​ quality product.

Two factors not to be underestimated
To catch the new needs of consumers and the changes in progress, two factors deserve to be considered carefully. First, the fact that the idea of ​​quality is increasingly combined with the request of eco-sustainability. The made-in-Italy product cannot express only style and professionalism, but also has to ensure care and respect for the environment. In this context, many Italian companies have already active, producing appliances able to combine high performance, design and efficiency.
A further element to be monitored is the growing importance of Internet, both as regards the diffusion of tools such as blogs and social networks (the choice of a brand is increasingly influenced by the digital world) and, as regards the importance of e-commerce, also for high-end and medium range goods. Investing in an integrated on-line/off-line approach can be a significant growth factor for made-in-Italy. A survey conducted by the Boston Consulting Group in the global market of high-end goods (including technological products and furniture) shows that on about 10.000 respondents in ten countries, only 38% turn exclusively to the store for information /purchase. While 45% made researches on-line and bought off-line, 9% looked for a product in the store and bought it on-line and 8% made everything on-line. Moreover, the same survey has underlined that for 75% of buyers of high-end goods, interviewed worldwide, the omnichannel approach is important: this figure reached 90% for Chinese consumers and 78% for Americans.