Milan Preview: Boffi - Design Bureau

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Milan Preview: Boffi

Thursday, March 27th, 2014

ROBERTO GAVAZZI, CEO

Despite Boffi’s standing as one of the largest names in kitchens and baths worldwide, and the fact that it was among the Salone’s exhibitors every year from its inception until 1994, the brand no longer participates in the actual fair. Rather, CEO Roberto Gavazzi opts to unveil Boffi’s annual new products at its flagship Milan showroom during the week’s festivities. Gavazzi has attended the fair each year since 1989, when he joined Boffi as managing director, and despite a few reservations about the ever-increasing size of the event, he finds that its quality and charm are simply unmatched.

Gavazzi also is rife with pride for his country and the work produced there, as he says that the Italian way of manufacturing is one of the country’s greatest assets that cannot be replicated.  “Creativity, taste, high-end production quality, reasonable business size, and international appeal are all areas that Italy does well,” Gavazzi says. “The quality of the entrepreneurs and their intuition, combined with a passion and capacity to take risks, is quite unique as compared to any other country worldwide.”

What products did Boffi reveal during last year’s Salone?

Our main focus was the use of new surface materials such as aluminum, glass, stones, and new-wood options, treated in a special way. We integrated these novelties with a new concept of presentation of our display spaces, organized in warm and comfortable rooms, where we could efficiently and emotionally communicate our willingness to be a unique and complete solution provider for kitchen and bathroom spaces.

What do you feel are the best aspects of the Salone? What do you see as some of the negatives, if any?

I like the energy and the creative sensations that the show communicates through an incredible availability of beautiful displays. It’s also very interesting to see the mix between the fair presentation—more institutional and organized—and the shows in town, which are more casual and sometimes quite spectacular in the unexpected performances. I do not like when the city becomes too chaotic, and I am also quite worried by the exaggerated increase of presentations that are gradually lowering the average quality and creating too much dilu- tion on the positive feelings that one can get out of the Salone.

What inspires you about the fair and seeing the work of your peers and competitors?

It’s extremely enriching to visit the Salone presentations, and not only the ones of companies related to our sector of activity. In general, the whole show is able to transmit a concentration of inspirations for the present and the future of our industry. Inspiration is not only about products but about materials, colors, display solutions, lights, technical solutions, company strategies, and more. It’s a mix of very precious sensations that are in the air, and one has to be able to catch them as much as possible, but for his own experience and reflections on the future.

What can we expect from Boffi during this year’s Salone?

This year we are celebrating our 80th anniversary! We’ll introduce a completely new concept of the kitchen that will turn around a new structural solution, using different materials as compared to a traditional kitchen. It will be designed by a new member of our team of creative minds. This will be a great, and hopefully a quite interesting, surprise.

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