Demetrio Apolloni Takes Helm at B& B Italia Group
The furniture business veteran, and the former B&B Italia U.S. CEO who formerly held senior leadership roles at Vitra, Kartell and Knoll, will take on his new role on Dec. 21.
MILAN — Furniture business veteran Demetrio Apolloni has succeeded Gilberto Negrini as chief executive officer of highend furniture company B&B Italia Group, its parent company Design Holding said in a statement Thursday.
Design Holding also comprises Flos, Louis Poulsen, Lumens, Arclinea, Maxalto, Azucena and Audo Copenhagen and produces Fendi Casa through a joint venture with the Roman fashion house. Together, Design Holding relies on 10 factories, counts about 2,300 employees and more than 100 designers, and its brands are distributed in more than 130 countries. The group has more than
6,700 points of sale, and closed 2022 with revenues of 867.6 million euros, up 25.8 percent on the previous year.
In addition to previously holding leadership positions at Swiss company
Vitra, U.S. company Knoll and Italy's Kartell, Design Holding said Apolloni is returning to B&B Italia, where he held senior executive roles from 1993 to 2006, including CEO of B&B Italia U.S.
The U.S. market is key to Design Holding's expansion plans and B&B Italia is key to its new store concept to complete the home. The strategy targets first- and second-tier cities in the U.S. and Asia.
Under the new concept, Design Holding's brands are placed with one another in one open space, unlike a showroom concept where brands and their products are isolated from each other. In the U.S., Design Holding's expansion of its brands provides American consumers, decorators and designers the chance to better explore the company's high-end brands in a market that is dominated by top players, like accessible furnishings and home player Williams-Sonoma Inc. and American furnishings retailer RH.
Design Holding is gearing up to open a new retail center named Madison 135 in March on Madison Avenue in New York City. The space will feature B&B Italia products, as well as others under the Design Holding umbrella. A new B&B Italia Design Studio was opened in Miami during Art Basel, while new B&B Italia stores also opened this year in Washington, D.C., and Boston.
Design Holding CEO Daniel Lalonde commented on Apolloni's strategic vision and expertise in international markets, “which will enable the B&B Italia Group (B&B Italia, Maxalto and Azucena) to accelerate its global leadership in the highend design market.”