HOTSPOT | Stars and stripes for Italian design
HOTSPOT | Stars and stripes for Italian design
America calls and Italy answers. Design from
the Bel Paese continues to enamour the US market,
and the stars-and-stripes economy is moving
briskly along, together with Italian exports.
Design born in Italy, but en route to the American dream.
by Roberta Busnelli
1972–2023. Fifty+1 years have passed since the historic ‘Italy: The New Domestic Landscape’ exhibition at the MoMA, the one that launched Italian design in the New World. According to curator Emilio Ambasz, speaking at the talk held in June 2022 at the MAXXI in Rome for the show’s 50th anniversary, ‘it left a deep, pervasive mark on the perception of Italian design in the United States, sending shock waves through the American design community at the time’.
Since then, Italian design hasn’t left the land of opportunity. It’s entered American homes and has decorated sets for Hollywood films. Still today, the Italian Design logo brings three adjectives to the minds of Americans: ‘sophisticated, high-quality and expensive’, explained Moreno Vitaloni, CEO of Giorgetti USA.
Notwithstanding a slight decline compared to an extraordinary 2021 and a 2022 that was off to a good start, and despite the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine War and the energy crisis, numbers coming from the market confirm that Italian design is holding on to its position in the US, the number three market for Italian exports since 2017, after France and Germany, and number one outside of the European Union. The estimates for 2023 foresee US-bound exports that could rival or even surpass Germany to reach second place in the furniture-lighting macro system.
‘The American market is increasingly important thanks in part to greater penetration of the Italian economic system and the design industry, which is now more advanced in its communication’, Vitaloni continued.
In large part, the future is American. Opportunities abound, including investments in real estate and, once again, the performance indicators on sales are extremely positive. If the US economy isn’t quite sprinting, it’s definitely moving at a brisk pace. Nevertheless, for Italian design firms (and other sectors), their price points and the related distribution are a critical issue, in a place as geographically vast as the US.
‘The United States is an enormous market, with infinite possibilities, but with a handicap in the upscale segment of European design. There are no dealers’, recounted Vitaloni. ‘With dozens of states, dealers cover about 50% of the entire territory. And of them, less than 25% are suitable for selling sophisticated and exclusive products like the ones made in Italy in general, and by Giorgetti in particular’.
For this reason, Giorgetti USA has recently undertaken a distribution upgrading project, opting for quality over quantity, less is more, and preferring to have a presence that conveys the legacy and the lifestyle of the brand. The company has chosen to invest in the creation of spaces, settings and atmospheres to tell a story to the market, represent the Giorgetti identity, the history and future of a producer that knows how to craft pieces that are unique in the quality of their materials, craftsmanship and sophistication.
‘The American mission of the Group is to convey the company’s know-how in the management of projects, residential and commercial, and also to transmit “the style of Giorgetti”, which means over a century of tradition and expertise, a culture of manufacturing, and design identity. With this statement, we aim to strengthen our market positioning’, clarified Vitaloni.
In the new distribution ecosystem, and in a country where the show is (almost) everything, communication is an essential competitive lever. In addition to its already well-established presence in Boston, Houston and Los Angeles, Giorgetti will be hitting the pitch on the offense in three new cities (and states): New York City, Miami, and Washington, D.C. Three cities, three flagships.
The Giorgetti location in New York City, set to open in May 2023, is the NoMad Design District, the place to be for the international design jet set, smack on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, in a space that dreams are made of: a 650 m2 penthouse with a private panoramic terrace measuring 400 m2, on the top storey of a historical eight-floor building. From this new location, Giorgetti will offer experiences that are both sensory and sensational. Experiences that can’t be bought online, occasions that then become memories, events that make a difference.
‘I think it’s extremely clear by now that, in the luxury industry, what counts is creating an experience’, Vitaloni continued. ‘We wanted a place where we could invite our clients not so much to show them how beautiful our furniture is, but to give them a truly unforgettable experience’.
From the state of New York to Florida. Giorgetti is opening in Miami, a hotspot that’s on the rise in which the biggest international players in the property market are investing and getting immediate returns. And, a factor that shouldn’t be underestimated, it’s a destination for the well-off Latin-American community. Giorgetti’s presence in the sunshine state will be doubled: the Miami debut comes in partnership with Denmark’s Bang & Olufsen. In April 2023, the prestigious brand will open its flagship store in the Miami Design District, another ‘royal’ setting for luxury, fashion and design brands. The B&O shop will have an original concept, and will include a B&O Home, presenting all its high-end speakers, headphones and televisions. Giorgetti provided all the furniture, setting it up like a real flat, while Battaglia, a company belonging to the Group, handled the interior design.
The collaboration, which expands to NYC too, arose from shared values and styles. Quality products, sophisticated design and long-standing traditions are distinguishing features that link the two companies. Even their target consumers very similar. They operate on the same plane, have similar tastes and share expectations. The second Giorgetti show for the debut in Miami involves the opening of its own flagship in the first half of 2024. The 300 m2 street-level space has been confirmed, because in Miami being seen is what counts. The atelier-penthouse concept in New York makes way for a shiny display window in a building which is currently under construction, promising to be of absolute quality.
The third flagship, scheduled for spring of 2023, will open in Washington, D.C., the US capital and headquarters of multinational corporations in logistics and finance. It’s a surprising yet far-sighted and courageous choice, as one of the many places in America that stands out for the lack of a design industry in general, not just Italian.
‘That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a market. Actually, it’s a very rich area; it’s more than a city. In terms of design, it’s entirely different than Manhattan or Miami—in terms of the clientele too. Potentially, however, it’s a very abundant market for the design community’, Vitaloni explained.
Giorgetti Washington is opening in a 250-300 m2 space in Chevy Chase, a very well-off suburb that’s technically in Maryland, where the big-wigs who work in D.C. live. Its socio-demographic profile is similar to Greenwich or Stamford, Connecticut, the distinguished bedroom community not far from Manhattan.
NYC, Miami, and Washington, D.C.: cities and communities with varied customer profiles—individuals, designers, architects—who share a desire for high-end furniture that will meet their decorating needs.
‘They’re clients with substantial spending power, who have the goal of bringing home something unique, not so much to show off, but rather for the perceived values of that product. They want the best, they can afford it, and the best comes from Italy’, Vitaloni noted.
But robust spending power doesn’t necessarily correspond to easy sales. In the large US market, the biggest risk for the entire luxury design industry is tied the degree of sensitivity to beauty and quality. The lack of a full, knowing comprehension of the value contained in design can penalise the matching of supply and demand.
‘We’ve spoken to developers who make houses that are fit for a king, but then when comparing the price with the object, knowledge and cultural sensitivity are fundamental to understanding the investment’, Vitaloni concluded.
Beyond the large budgets that are available, the price of something is a fundamental value for Americans, a way to measure the consistency and reliability of the product. It’s a canvas made of details and craftsmanship, of tradition and passion, one to be woven every day to best present Italian design to the New World.
History, savoir-faire, creativity and allure. It’s the richness that Italy brings as its dowry to young, ambitious America. And in the end, when American interior designers, architects or developers visit the Giorgetti factory in Meda, the treasure chest opens up and they’re enveloped in wonder. How do you do it?
Unique products, ladies and gentleman, exclusively made in Italy since 1898.
The American market is increasingly important thanks in part to greater penetration of the Italian economic system and the design industry.
—Moreno Vitaloni