Outdoor drives Gervasoni's revenues: record sales in 2023

When, in June 2014, brothers Michele and Giovanni Gervasoni - the third generation at the helm of the Udine-based furniture company of the same name - began looking for investors through which to make a decisive change of pace in the development of their company, they could not have imagined how far their project, shared at the time with Fabio Sattin, Paolo Colonna and a group of partners, would go. A year later, in 2015, Italian Design Brands (IDB) debuted on the market, heralded as the new Italian high-end design hub, at a time when the furniture industry was experiencing several movements in the same direction, namely the concentration of small but prestigious and excellent companies within more managerially and financially structured groups, with the solid capital of investors and funds behind them.

Giovanni e Michele Gervasoni, rispettivamente presidente e amministratore delegato Gervasoni, terza generazione alla guida dell’azienda

"We had had several offers, even financially superior,' says Giovanni, the elder of the two brothers and president of the company, 'but we chose Sattin and Colonna, because their project was in line with what we had in mind. It is always the people, in the end, who make the difference'.

Since then, Gervasoni and Italian Design Brands have come a long way together. In May last year the company was listed on Euronext Milan and last March it changed its name to Dexelance. The group - 51% controlled by Giovanni Tamburi's Tamburi Investment Partners - now has 11 companies in its portfolio and reached a turnover of €287.4 million in 2023, which rises to €310.8 million by consolidating the acquisitions finalised last year, an increase of 16.6% compared to the year before. Gervasoni also followed this trend, explains Michele Gervasoni, managing director: although 2023 marked a setback for the furniture industry as a whole after the extraordinary two-year period 2021-2022, the company recorded record turnover, reaching around 38 million euro (+55% compared to 2019), with an Ebitda of around 20%. And the first quarter of 2024 also confirmed this positive trend.

Merit, the two brothers explain, for certain strategic choices made in recent years. In particular, explains Michele, the operation launched in 2020 to create a separate division dedicated to the outdoor collection, which until then was a 'di cui' of the general proposal, with its own catalogue of fabrics and separate communication and presentation activities. "This has allowed us to be perceived by the market, professionals, distributors and users, as a brand specialised in outdoor furniture, positioning us among the top 10-15 Italian companies specialising in the sector."

The second choice was, in 2021, to change the art direction, entrusted since 1998 to Paola Navone, who was also the company's exclusive designer, and bring it in-house, also opening up to the contribution of new designers. "The collaboration with Paola Navone, which continues, has given us a great deal and has allowed Gervasoni to create a defined and recognisable image in the world in over 20 years," adds the entrepreneur. "But in order to broaden the target clientele, we have decided to launch a number of new collaborations, both for the indoor and outdoor collections, to propose objects that reflect the Gervasoni style, but introducing new keys to interpretation in materials and design. The change of direction to outdoor has brought immediate results: suffice it to say that in 2023 the turnover generated by this segment has increased by 50% (compared to 2020), now representing a quarter of total revenues. The change in art direction, on the other hand, was a more complex operation and perhaps even a risk but, Michele Gervasoni assures us, "it worked: after three years of work, the market appreciated this change and the ability to have implemented it while maintaining the brand's roots".