Business cases

From craft workshop to furniture industry: LEMA's growth between tradition and innovation

LEMA's evolution from craft workshop to global industry, led by three generations of entrepreneurs

11 September 2025

4' min read

Observing and learning from the experience of others is one of the most effective and virtuous methods of growth. This is why the history of Italian excellence that has been handed down from generation to generation can provide valuable insights for anyone aspiring to entrepreneurial success. LEMA, an interior design company that today employs 235 people and has a turnover of EUR 55 million, is rightfully among these virtuous models. Narrating its journey are President Angelo Meroni and his sons Andrea and Matteo.

The Brianza workshop and the encounter with Milanese design

It all began in the 1930s in Arosio, in the heart of Brianza, when Angelo Meroni - grandfather and namesake of the current president - opened a small wooden furniture workshop.

The turning point came after the Second World War, when the family opened a shop in Milan: the metropolis allowed for an initial contamination, with emerging architects and designers orienting the design culture towards a more contemporary aesthetic.

Craftsman's customisation, industry scalability

In the 1970s, the craft workshop was transformed into a real industry. Here is LEMA, acronym for Luigi and Enrico Meroni Arredamenti, led by the second generation, Angelo's sons. It was during this period that architect Angelo Mangiarotti designed the first headquarters in Alzate Brianza, later followed by the one in Giussano. Today, the production facilities cover an impressive 55,000 m². Here the company began to give shape to the two souls that still characterise it today: the artisan ability to customise and the efficiency, precision and industrial scale of production.

Customisation also became LEMA's trademark thanks to the genius of architect Tito Agnoli, who brought to Italy for the first time the load-bearing shoulder system that allows customised bookcases. This innovation is followed by another: a range of 25 different colours. "The colour palette even included violet, a decidedly revolutionary colour for those times," Angelo Meroni recalls. The power of colour also invaded the increasingly numerous physical shops, where the company's furniture stood out amidst the typical neutral tones of wood.

An abrupt inheritance, a prepared transition

The third generational transition is particularly abrupt, with the sudden death of Luigi. The son Angelo is only 19 years old, but the company is still run by his mother, sisters and brother-in-law. After university, he began working in the company, learning the trade, until starting the Contract division in 2004. In 2009, he became President and launched the company towards an increasingly international dimension: thanks to this vision, LEMA now boasts a network of around 1000 dealers in 65 countries worldwide. "I did not have the privilege of a true generational transition," Angelo recounts today, "but I always knew that, in order to build the future, I first had to understand its roots.

Decidedly more gradual is the transition currently underway, involving Angelo's two sons, Andrea and Matteo. The beauty of LEMA breathed in since childhood, in the warmth of the hearth, has developed in them an emotional attachment to the company, and to their parents, becoming a solid base of values that has left no doubts about the path to take. "It was always obvious and natural that we would work with Dad and make our own contribution," they recount.

With this in mind, they both chose to graduate and gain experience in other companies, in Italy and abroad, in order to enrich their own cultural background. Knowing the typical processes of a multinational company and then transferring their knowledge to the family business: this is the mantra. After a career at Pirelli, Andrea is in charge of Production and Purchasing at LEMA, while Matteo recently joined after experience in Boston and San Francisco in a tech company in the data analytics sector.

The future of LEMA: between innovation and humanity

If Luigi and Enrico were able to intercept the new trends by transforming a craft workshop into an industry, if Angelo had the strength to internationalise it, today it is up to Andrea and Matteo to face the complexities of the present, from dazi to the increasing scarcity of labour, while maintaining a perspective of continuous growth.

The challenge is to seize the opportunities offered by digitalisation to constantly improve internal processes and products. Because, as Angelo emphasises, 'growth must always focus on innovation'. That innovation recognised around the world as a distinctive trait of Made in Italy: 'There is no denying the indisputable expertise of our foreign competitors. But if there is one thing that is universally recognised of Italian companies, it is their continuous ability to innovate, finding ingenious solutions to every problem'.

At the end of this stimulating chat, I asked Angelo: 'If you could give one talent to your children, what would it be?' The answer pleasantly surprised me once again: 'The ability to learn to work with people. Every day we work together to create new products, so it is essential to learn who to trust to the end'. Words that make you reflect on how much a company so focused on product has a deeply human heart.

One of the secrets of this brand lies in the assumption behind their furniture, which is the brainchild of great architects but designed to be experienced and not as museum objects: furniture capable of bringing not only beauty but also pleasure, comfort and well-being into the home.

A philosophy that can be identified in the recent 'Feel at Home' project, which describes LEMA not only as a furniture manufacturer but as a promoter of a living experience. To help every home tell its own story.

*Director of the Academy of Strategic Communication.