Design: iGuzzini launches an e-commerce channel for reissues of classic designs

And to think that the ‘Echoes’ was launched in 2022 with the sole aim of reaffirming the position of iGuzzini – a Recanati-based company specialising in architectural and technical lighting solutions – within the history of Italian design, a history shaped by great masters and timeless icons. It all began there, in 1959, the year the company was founded. Today, it is a business with a turnover of over 200 million euros – 83 per cent of which is generated abroad – more than 1,200 employees, three production plants and 45 offices worldwide, and which has been part of the Swedish Fagerhult Group since 2018.

“Our aim was to reaffirm our DNA and share this heritage, which is part of the history of Italian design, through a programme that involves reissuing at least one gem from our historical archive each year, thereby telling the story of our origins and the journey that has taken us through these 70 years,” explains Cristiano Venturini, CEO of the Marche-based company. There is no intention whatsoever to bring iGuzzini back into the decorative lighting segment: “We are and will remain a lighting technology company, strongly committed to innovation and operating exclusively through B2B channels,” the CEO clarifies. “However, we want to convey the ‘warm tech’ character of our brand, which combines a focus on technology and advanced research with a warmer, more Italian spirit,” he adds. This is not, therefore, a commercial venture, but rather a heritage initiative aimed at strengthening the brand’s positioning.

The initiative, however, has been well received by the market, to the extent that the Recanati-based company has received a number of requests to exhibit the reissued pieces from its historical archive (currently around ten, including designs by Gio Ponti, Rodolfo Bonetto, Ennio Lucini and Luigi Massoni, plus two new pieces inspired by the archive’s iconic designs) and even a few enquiries about purchasing them.

Hence the decision to launch an e-commerce channel dedicated to pieces from the Echoes collection. The new platform, linked to the iGuzzini website, provides direct access to the reissues – previously available only through specialist channels – as well as to some more contemporary pieces, such as Ron Arad’s Pizzakobra, and certain versions of Renzo Piano’s Lingotto and Le Perroquet. The e-commerce site also offers the Clan Mini and Whisper wireless, battery-powered lamps, inspired by the Echoes collection.

The project therefore aims to capitalise on iGuzzini’s wealth of research and expertise, repositioning the brand within a design tradition which, even today, represents added value and a distinctive feature, even for a company whose core business now lies in technical lighting. And which, despite the uncertainties and difficulties in global markets, managed to close 2025 with an EBIT margin of 12 per cent – an all-time high – thanks in part to its withdrawal from sectors with lower profit margins. This led to a slight reduction in turnover (-6%, to €205 million), but an improvement in margins. EBITDA stands at 17% and cash flow generation was around 15%.