Bathroom Floor Design Pictures

By  Giovanna Mancini

Exports have always been in the DNA of Gessi, one of the leading companies of “Made in Italy” bathroom furniture and wellness systems. But up until a few years ago, explains CEO Eusebio Gualino, “the design market was concentrated in Europe, while today we are looking East and West to Asia and North America.”

“We are trying to reorganize our presence in Asia in a more structured way, ” explains Gualino.

The company’s new showroom in Singapore is an example of how it plans to expand.

“It is a true hub for Asia and the Middle East, ” he adds, “a strong sign for our customers, as it inaugurates a stable and continuous strategy in the area, entirely managed by us.”

Along the lines of the Gessi space which opened in Milan in 2012 (1, 500 sqm right on the very centrally located via Manzoni), the showroom in Singapore is primarily aimed at a business clientele: architects, designers, general contractors.

“The goal is to expand, especially in the contract segment, ” specifies the company's CEO, “but retail is also an important segment, because even in Asian countries now the home and design culture is starting to spread, which fosters appreciation of our products.”

The positive results achieved by Gessi in Milan and, in the first months of activity, in Singapore, have pushed the Piedmontese company to design a model for international growth based on the opening of “Gessi Spaces” in the main capitals throughout the world, in addition to the reinforcement in some strategic markets through direct presence or partnerships with local distributors in the high-end segment.

Such is the case with Moscow, where Gessi recently launched a sales office, which is added to the ten already established throughout Europe and the United States.

“It is a gradual growth plan, ” explains Gualino. “We need to take careful steps and analyze markets thoroughly. Asia, for example, has huge potential, but we must analyze and evaluate each country case by case.”

The company is considering possible partnerships and locations for new Gessi Spaces: “we have many ideas but, at the moment, I can’t talk about them, ” says the CEO.

The change of pace in the distribution strategy in recent years - with an eye towards emerging markets and the direct management of branches - has been fundamental to allowing the company to maintain a trend of growth even in the hardest period of the global recession.

Sales this year are expected to exceed €100 million in sales (approximately a 9-10% increase over 2014), with an 80% increase in exports.

“We did not have any layoffs”, underlines Gualino, and now Gessi is focusing on bringing growth to double-digit levels, “which we were used to in the past.”

But at the core is the ability to innovate the product and the overall offering of the company, which went through a radical change in 2008, with the introduction of “Private Wellness Gessi” brand which inaugurated a new vision of the bathroom: not only a lavatory, but a place of “wellness” in a broad sense, with variations to suit all budgets.