Consonni sets up Malta office to target North Africa

Consonni SpA has reached an agreement with Studio Moda Group to establish a back office to handle interior design and tendering for hotel and luxury project contracts in Malta and North Africa.

The Como-based firm and Studio Moda are to share their expertise to benefit from Malta's proximity to the target region. Studio Moda is also to establish a sub-office in Tripoli to consolidate its efforts to win business locally and throughout the region.

Consonni, currently establishing a new office in London, has branch offices in Abu Dhabi, Geneva and Monaco.

Established over 30 years ago, Consonni is essentially a family business that acts as a one-stop shop for projects for bespoke interiors involving luxury homes and the hospitality industry, and yachts through its Consonni International subsidiary.

CTC Consonni Contract is structured as a divisional organisation, each department headed by one of four Consonni siblings, under the direction of group president Marco Consonni, the visionary in the family.

The company has amassed a database of over 450 suppliers, including more than 200 for hotels; of which 85 per cent are Italian manufacturers.

CTC Consonni Contract has a preferred channel for fabric suppliers in the famed Brianza area, and all furnishings and furniture are strictly made in Italy. Consonni, which directly employs around 200 people, boasts a design department manned by 20 professionals led by 16 project managers.

CTC Consonni has collaborated with top-ranking architects and designers: from Richard Daniel Design and the Ransley Group of London, Papiri Studio and BDA of Rome, Spatium and Scacchetti Studios of Milan, and Hirsch Bedner Associates of Atlanta. It has been commissioned by renowned chains including Hilton, Forte, Ramada, Radisson, Kempinski and Hyatt in locations like Gstaad, St Moritz, Amman, Dubai, Milan, Florence and Monte Carlo, and boat-builders Azimut and Fincantieri.

Earlier this year, it set up a new brand with 70-year-old luxury home furnisher MisuraEmme: "Consonni + MisuraEmme". The brand promises to "satisfy the most demanding customers through accurate design and refined production of a wide range of hotel furniture thanks to high skills, know-how and intuition to offer design flexibility and top quality."

"We have long-term experience in this business," Anna Castelnuovo of Consonni told The Times Business during a short visit to Malta a few days ago.

"We give real turnkey project service, beyond furnishing - from concept to completion. We have our internal design department that is able to create design concepts for hotels. We can handle the design and the realisation, depending on the customer's brief."

Set up 18 years ago, Studio Moda has a portfolio of diversified projects to its name in Malta, the UK, Dubai and Libya. Locally, it has won contracts for furnishings for hotels, banks, offices, restaurants, language schools, and retail outlets. In conjunction with its own international suppliers, the company has been able to take on medium- to high-volume projects. It also has a flourishing retail business and represents favourite brands like Kartell, Verardo Italia, Sinetica, Driade, Magis, Musterring, and Salvarani kitchens.

Director Mark Borg described the partnership with Consonni as enabling the Maltese firm to "go one step ahead" to venture into even more prestigious projects. The Consonni office is currently tendering for some local high-end contracts.

Mr Borg pointed out that as a significant number of berths become available under the authorities' proposal to create over 13 new marinas, the potential for yacht furnishings business in Malta is considerable. Studio Moda and Consonni are particularly interested in this market locally.

He also believes that further opportunities lie in the local hospitality industry as Maltese hoteliers take advantage of government incentives to upgrade three- and four-star hotels.

"Our co-operation is an exchange because Studio Moda can use Consonni's experience in terms of interior design," Ms Castelnuovo explained. "Studio Moda's experience and knowledge of the North African market, in particular, will help us to expand our business. Beyond Libya, we also aim to study business opportunities in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in the long term.

"Consonni strives to work with the best quality materials. We have co-operated with top furniture manufacturers in Italy for years so we are able also secure competitive rates."

Asked about the effects of the global slowdown on Consonni's business, Ms Castelnuovo said the company was one of the few in Italy which had not suffered in the crisis.

"We are sometimes forced to turn down business because we are working at full capacity," she explained. "In the north of Italy, especially in the Brianza area, businesses are suffering a great deal. The nature of Consonni's market and the high-level clients has been totally unaffected.

"The niche tourism market within which we operate has not been hit; in fact orders have increased. We have the knowledge to tap the best markets to do business in.

"We have another advantage in that we do not have many competitors in Italy as we are one of the few companies to give end-to-end service in the contract business. Marco Consonni, the company's president, has great experience and passion for this industry and knows the business perfectly. He is our key asset and is on top of his game."