From Colombia to India, Kartell strengthens its retail network

He speaks of "total uncertainty" on the markets Claudio Luti, chairman of Kartell, one of the best known and most representative brands of Italia design in the world. And yet, the company from Noviglio (Milan) does not stop investing in its strategic assets: product evolution and development of its retail network, based on the flagship store model.

With regard to the first asset - the product - Kartell's stand at the Salone del Mobile in Milan (a good 1,500 square metres divided into three areas) well represents the transformation the company has undergone over the last 15 years. "We will have new products, reissues of historical pieces reinterpreted with new materials, colours or finishes, and extensions of product families," explains Luti. "The extension of the functions and materials explored has profoundly changed our work compared to 30 years ago, while still respecting our identity. Today, the work is focused less and less on single objects or furnishings and more and more on functions, on environments, on complete solutions that can include products from different families or designed by different designers.

There are ten or so who make up Kartell's 'team' this year, including a new entry (the duo Barber and Osgerby) and a returner (Erwan Bouroullec). "They are all very different from each other and each has its own precise identity, yet they all know how to interpret our identity very well, and this allows us to innovate constantly, while respecting and continuing our values, and to make the different products dialogue with each other," notes Luti. An aspect, this, that favours the company in its path of consolidation also in the contract channel, which still represents a minority part of the business, but which is growing, also thanks to the work of a dedicated team of people.

However, retail has been at the heart of Kartell's business strategy since Claudio Luti took over the company in the 1980s. Since then, it has always invested in the development and constant renewal of its flagship store network around the world. In 2025, Kartell accelerated its international development plan, with a series of new openings in strategic areas such as Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America, in cities such as Casablanca and Cape Town, Shanghai, Jakarta and Bogotá, Lisbon, Belgrade and Istanbul, Bologna and Pescara. "A selection of openings that testifies to a structured and consistent growth, capable of adapting to local contexts while maintaining a strong global recognisability," Luti points out.

In the first quarter of 2026, the development plan continued, although the openings in Dubai (where the company already has two stores) and Riyadh were postponed. New Delhi and Brussels were confirmed instead. "The Middle East was the area that was developing most rapidly. Now, because of the war, everything is at a standstill, but I am confident that it will soon be able to restart and express its full potential,' the entrepreneur concludes