B&B Italia

B&B Italia SpA is an Italian modern furniture company whose products are sold worldwide.

Company history
The company was founded in 1966 by Piero Ambrogio Busnelli, and is owned by his descendants who manage the company. On March 1, 2011, the Busnelli family became majority shareholders of the company once again and now own 100% of the shares.

The United States subsidiary, B&B Italia USA Inc., is located in Manhattan, New York in the Architects and Designers Building above their American flagship store in midtown.

B&B Italia has won four Compasso d'Oro awards: first in 1979 for Le Bambole by Mario Bellini; then in 1984 for Sisamo by Studio Kairos; and again in 1987 for Sity by Antonio Citterio. In 1989, B&B Italia became the first company to be recognized with a Compasso d'Oro directly awarded to a design manufacturing entity. Since 1966 there have been over 1,000 B&B Italia designs (including prototypes).

Designers who have worked with the B&B Italia design department include Antonio Citterio, Patricia Urquiola, Gaetano Pesce, Naoto Fukasawa, Zaha Hadid, Marcel Wanders, Richard Sapper, Afra and Tobia Scarpa, Jean-Marie Massaud, Jeffrey Bernett, Mario Bellini, Studio Kairos, Paolo Piva, Richard Schultz, Atelier Oi, David Chipperfield, C. Gerhards and A. Glucker, Chris Howker, Ettore Sottsass, Gabriele and Oscar Buratti, Jakob Wagner, Monica Armani, Nicole Aebischer, Roberto Barbieri, Uwe Fischer, Jasper Morrison, Marc Newson, and Vincent Van Duysen.

Over 3% of B&B Italia's annual sales is reinvested in research and development. In 2010, a foaming department for upholstery was established with an investment of 4 million euros.

From the entry of The Carlyle Group into Investindustrial's design plan, Design Holding was born in September 2018 with the aim of creating the Italian hub of high-end interior design and then becoming it internationally. The brands already controlled by Investindustrial are part of the new company, led by Gabriele Del Torchio: Flos, B&B Italia and the Danish Louis Poulsen.

The B&B Italia group owns the B&B Italia, Maxalto, Azucena and Arclinea brands and reached 201.4 million in revenues in 2019 with exports accounting for over 80%. Sales in 80 countries through a network of 10 flagship stores, 70 single-brand stores and 1000 resellers.

Collections
B&B Italia has two divisions; the Home Division (focused on the residential market) and the Contract Division (for hospitality, marine, retail and offices). There are two brands; B&B Italia and Maxalto. Within B&B Italia there are four collections.

B&B Italia Home: Defined by products such as the Up Series Chair by Gaetano Pesce, the Charles Sofa by Antonio Citterio, Tufty Time by Patricia Urquiola and The Moon System Sofa by Zaha Hadid, the B&B Italia Home Collection is the base upon which the company was built.

Maxalto: The Maxalto Collection was established in 1975. The collection includes products with shapes drawing inspiration from the typologies and styles of French design between the two World Wars. Maxalto is a line of interior furnishings designed and coordinated by Antonio Citterio. Maxalto is often sold within B&B Italia stores but has in the last decade established itself more and more as its own brand. The first stand alone Maxalto store opened in Paris, France. In 2008 the first monobrand store in the US opened in Chicago, Illinois, followed soon after by Miami, Florida.

There are four collections within Maxalto: Apta, Simplice, AC and, released in 2010, Acro. Maxalto was featured in 2008 in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace.

B&B Italia Outdoor: Designed for indoor/outdoor living. It started with Canasta by Patricia Urquiola in 2007. Since then, the collection has grown to include pieces by Jean-Marie Massaud and Marcel Wanders in addition to new pieces by Patricia Urquiola and Atelier Oï. New products for the line are being designed by Naoto Fukasawa and Antonio Citterio.

B&B Italia Project: The Project Collection is a range of tables, chairs and soft seating for the contract market. It is often used in workplaces, restaurants, hotels, and public spaces.

B&B Italia Object: The Object Collection includes vases, trays, bowls, pillows, lighting and accessories.

B&B Italia Contract: The B&B Italia Contract Division handles the “turnkey” projects for furnishings and/or layout in hotel areas, offices, retail, institutions, stores, cruise liners, etc. The Contract Division manages contracts for furnishings, from projects to logistics and from materials procurement to installation. The Contract Division has completed the newly opened W Retreat and Spa of Vieques Island designed with Patricia Urquiola and The Nieuw Amsterdam Luxury Cruise Line for Holland America with 1564 cabins. It was launched in Venice on July 4. Future projects include the W Hotel St. Petersburg designed by Antonio Citterio and two exclusive resorts in Greece.

MOOOI: B&B Italia owns 25% of the design company Moooi. Moooi is a Dutch company for which Marcel Wanders serves as co-owner and art director and Casper Vissers as co-owner and CEO.

Distribution: B&B Italia and Maxalto have 750 points of sale worldwide including seven flagship stores (Milan, London, Munich, Paris, Chicago and two in New York), 20 monobrand stores and over 70 "Shop-in-Shops".