B&B Italia About
B&B Italia has been a leading company in the field of contemporary furnishings since its founding in 1966. This company is capable of representing contemporary culture, sensing and anticipating trends and responding to the changes in taste and living needs. Based on these abilities, a world famous collection of furnishings was born that happens to symbolise a fundamental segment in the story of Italian design. The list of contributors to B&B Italia's success includes names like Roberto Barbieri, Mario Bellini, Jeffrey Bernett, Antonio Citterio, Vincent Van Duysen, Uwe Fischer, James Irvine, Ludovico Magistretti, Gaetano Pesce, Paolo Piva, Richard Sapper, Studio Kairos, Patricia Urquiola, Afra e Tobia Scarpa. These designers are responsible for the first great success of B&B Italia with the sofa Coronado (1966), considered the predecessor of industrialised production. After that came a series of achievements: the Serie Up (1969) by Gaetano Pesce, Le Bambole (1972) by Mario Bellini, the sofa Diesis (1979) by Antonio Citterio and Paolo Nava. With the Sity system (1986) by Antonio Citterio, which became the model for the new concept of modular furniture, the collaboration between the company and the Milanese designer became standard procedure. As a result, a series of well received products such as the storage units Domus (1989), the seat systems Charles (1997) and George (2001) and recently the wardrobe system Door (2002).
Going back over B&B Italia’s history, it comes across clearly that the technological research has always been the strategic element in the company development policy, in which B&B Italia invests annually over 3% of its turnover. In fact, B&B Italia has its own Research & Development Centre that works with the designers and fuels a constant innovation process. Thanks to this structure, the company has been able to establish a world-wide reputation as a manufacturer with a high capacity for innovation and technology. All of this has secured numerous recommendations and awards, both in Italy and abroad, including four “Compasso d’Oro”, the most important award in the field of Italian industrial design: the most welcomed was won in 1989 “for the constant work of integration carried out in order to combine the values of scientific and technological research with those necessary to the functionality and expressiveness of its products”.
Among the achievements that have marked the company’s growth, it is worth mentioning the use of cold foamed moulded polyurethane, the use of dacron wadding, the industrial production of objects in fibreglass pre-impregnated with synthetic resins, the production of metal structures for sofas and armchairs guaranteed to last for ten years.
In the distribution policy, B&B Italia has always known when to use courageous strategies that have created a network of highly selective sales points in just a few years and it has reinforced distributive structures through the opening of monobrand stores and “shop in shop”. The most recent B&B Italia Store in Milan, that is going to become the most important attraction for design lovers in the heart of the city, joins the ranks alongside those already open in New York, Washington, Seattle, Hannover, Cologne, London, Seoul, Tokyo and Osaka.
Going back over B&B Italia’s history, it comes across clearly that the technological research has always been the strategic element in the company development policy, in which B&B Italia invests annually over 3% of its turnover. In fact, B&B Italia has its own Research & Development Centre that works with the designers and fuels a constant innovation process. Thanks to this structure, the company has been able to establish a world-wide reputation as a manufacturer with a high capacity for innovation and technology. All of this has secured numerous recommendations and awards, both in Italy and abroad, including four “Compasso d’Oro”, the most important award in the field of Italian industrial design: the most welcomed was won in 1989 “for the constant work of integration carried out in order to combine the values of scientific and technological research with those necessary to the functionality and expressiveness of its products”.
Among the achievements that have marked the company’s growth, it is worth mentioning the use of cold foamed moulded polyurethane, the use of dacron wadding, the industrial production of objects in fibreglass pre-impregnated with synthetic resins, the production of metal structures for sofas and armchairs guaranteed to last for ten years.
In the distribution policy, B&B Italia has always known when to use courageous strategies that have created a network of highly selective sales points in just a few years and it has reinforced distributive structures through the opening of monobrand stores and “shop in shop”. The most recent B&B Italia Store in Milan, that is going to become the most important attraction for design lovers in the heart of the city, joins the ranks alongside those already open in New York, Washington, Seattle, Hannover, Cologne, London, Seoul, Tokyo and Osaka.
