“Over the last four years we have imagined Giorgetti as a company that can be the ideal platform for working on a project. We do not talk about products, but about projects and greater flexibility, to offer the possibility of sartorial creation of spaces.” Confirming the ideas expressed in this interview by Giovanni del Vecchio, CEO of the company, the furnishings and collections for 2019 represent the concrete results of this growth strategy that began after the acquisition of the company by the Progressio SGR fund in 2015.
As we have seen at the latest Salone del Mobile, the many proposals include reissues or new versions of historic products, like the Grand Tour folding chair by Paolo Suman or the Springer office seating by Massimo Scolari, expansions and supplements to the product range, like the Disegual cabinet by Umberto Asnago or the OLI display case by Chi Wing Lo, collaborations with brands in other luxury sectors, the recent Giada by Giorgetti, but also and above all the development of modular systems that adapt to a bespoke approach. For example, the Skyline series by Carlo Colombo, with sectional sofa, table and cabinet, MTM by Carlo Colombo in collaboration with Centro Ricerche Giorgetti, a storage unit composed of a repeatable column structure, and Apsara by Ludovica + Roberto Palomba, a system of outdoor seating components.
The collections for 2019 are very detailed and versatile, not just for the furnishing solutions and the range of materials and finishes, but also for characteristics of form and modular design. Has Giorgetti unveiled its own total look?
Over the last four years we have imagined Giorgetti as a company that can be the ideal platform for working on a project. We do not talk about products, but about projects, as we have clearly underlined in the title of the book on the 120 years of the company, From Object to Project. Our philosophy is not to simply be a counterpart capable of assisting a designer, or a private client, in the selection of objects for a space, but one that can contribute to the design of the space itself. This necessity and strategy leads us to cover product areas that offer greater flexibility and thus the possibility of the sartorial creation of custom spaces for our clients. When you interact with an extremely demanding clientele, willing to make major investments, you have to work like tailors, not just to grant an imprint to the atmosphere that in any case is recognizable as being by Giorgetti, but also to formulate specific proposals for those who will live in the spaces on a daily basis. Besides beauty, we seek functional quality so that clients can make our products their own, like catalysts of memories, for themselves and to pass on to future generations. The culture of passing on a legacy is still very widespread in Europe and above all in Italy, and we want to raise the awareness of our clients regarding this aspect.
The idea of making things to measure is in tune with a contract approach. More than a year after the acquisition of Battaglia, what have been the reciprocal contributions in this first phase of partnership, and what are the expectations?
Giorgetti is an industrial company. We produce what we sell in a sector that often trades in products made by third parties. We believe strongly in the value of in-house production, which allows us to control all the phases of the production cycle and to guarantee the highest quality. In the perspective of bespoke creations we are seeking, and which corresponds to the requests of our clients, we were lacking an industrial support, and for us Battaglia has been the ideal counterpart, with a brand positioned at the high end of the market, in line with the position of Giorgetti, able to complete major projects mostly in the retail and hospitality sectors. The synergy between the two companies becomes complementary, if we consider the fact that Giorgetti has good penetration in the world of hospitality, which can be boosted with Battaglia, and extensive penetration in the residential sector, a contribution we can bring to this new partner. All in total synergy. Giorgetti brings its activities in over 100 countries, including foreign affiliates that enable us to intercept projects all over the world for both companies, increasing the potential of their trademarks.
The contract sector also includes that of luxury yachts, where you have already worked with CCN, Columbus Yachts and Monte Carlo Yachts. After the shows in September at Cannes, Genoa and Monaco, what are the prospects?
Obviously we are interested in any sector that gives us to opportunity to work on the detailed design of a Giorgetti atmosphere. Some of our furnishings have always been used by yachtsmen and shipyards in living areas on yachts, as in the case of the MCY76 by Monte Carlo Yachts, designed with standard Giorgetti furnishings. The company has explored this sector as it explores any other area of living spaces, though yachting has very particular requirements. We would like to imagine a path of further growth here, in line with what we are doing in general in the residential world. In this sense, we are conversing with shipyards with which we have ties of familiarity and esteem, not just to supply objects but also to manage to provide a more complete on-board solution, getting beyond individual pieces and creating entire settings, in a typical Giorgetti atmosphere.
