A partnership between Australian-based Sofa Brands, Calia Italia and China’s largest retailer DeRucci will offer luxury Italian-made sofas and upholstery to consumers in Australia, New Zealand and China for as little as one-third of the price by the end of the year.

Once the program rolls out there, the plan is to offer the program to retailers across the U.S. and Europe. The sofas are backed by a lifetime warranty on frames and a five-year warranty on leather, foam and fabrics.

The founder of Sofa Brands, Steve Layton, says this program is a win-win-win.

“The key to the success of this program was the knowledge of my partner Giuseppe Colafiglio,” said Layton. “He is based in Los Angeles and China and has spent 14 years working with China’s top furniture manufacturers. His fluency in Mandarin, English and Italian has been invaluable in bridging the cultures to bring this deal to fruition. Giuseppe is a member of the third generation of a family of Italian upholsterers and completed his apprenticeship with Natuzzi Italia.”

Layton says the plan is to bring quality Italian brands to the consumer for whom well-crafted, Italian-designed furniture has previously been unavailable. Sofa Brands will leverage off the production volumes to give major retail groups and online retailers access to this supply chain at a fraction of the industry comparable cost.

“What we have managed to do is groundbreaking from a supply point of view,” Layton said. “The sofas are in production now at factories in China using Italian and locally sourced components for supply to thousands of stores in China under the DeRucci brand. China has a booming middle class of 450 million who are hungry for famous Italian brands.”

Layton says Sofa Brands also has a commitment from Italian factories to develop a custom-made program in Australia including hundreds of leather colors and any contrast stitching with white-glove shipping to the consumer. Each piece would be unique and would come with a document of certification. This would allow consumers to add to their collection over time with new pieces such as a loveseat and ottoman while being assured that the color of the pieces would match. The custom-made program is also expected to roll out to China, the U.S. and Europe over the next year.

“The goal of these programs is to offer consumers something different — disruptive even,” said Layton. “We want to open access to fine Italian furniture that is also a very real value for the money.”

(Source: FurnitureToday)