The last two years have been a turning point for the Pilma brand, a leading name in furniture and decoration design in Barcelona, created more than 45 years ago. Thus, once the pandemic has been overcome, 2022 has begun with a new business perimeter.
Co-directed by brothers Pau López, in executive management, and Ricard López, creator and designer of the catalog, the Pilma firm has a new flagship store in Madrid, a 1,000 square meter own store; it has renewed the online platform; it has renovated the establishment on Avenida Diagonal in Barcelona; and it has created a new corporate identity.
Designed by Josep Baqués in 1974 for the inauguration of the first store in the city, the Pilma logo is a key piece of the history of Catalan graphic design and is part of the permanent collection of the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona. It is an acronym of the names Pilar and Magdalena, the mother and wife of Pilma's founder, Ricardo López Beltrol, the second generation of a family of cabinetmakers and carpenters. "This protected intangible heritage, which only had five letters, we have developed with all the symbolism of the alphabet and numerology to rethink and unify the entire corporate identity," explains Pau López, a member of the third generation.
With its foundations well established, Pilma faces the future "with two locations, Barcelona and Madrid, very balanced" and with good prospects for tackling new markets abroad. "We want to consolidate distribution abroad, in central and northern Europe where we are already present, but also look for partners for other places where there is ambition to grow, to get closer to the West, where there is political stability, ...". This can be found, according to Pau López, in Mexico, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Ivory Coast... "in places like Tel Aviv, in Israel, where we work with a distributor with a very good brand positioning".
To start working on the new objectives, the first decision has been to participate for the first time in the world's leading international furniture and decoration fair: Maison&object, which will be held in Paris next March. Until now, and they will continue to do so, they attended the also international IMM Cologne, but the 2022 edition has been postponed until 2023.
In these contests, the Catalan company promotes its own furniture catalog PLM Design Barcelona ---a brand created in the early 90s, for which Ricard López is the creative director---, "our name is always paired with the Barcelona brand, we are inseparable. It sells a lot." The city continues to be a design reference "although perhaps we have lost projection," says Pau López. The co-director argues that in Barcelona there is the family DNA and of creative and design brand. And also the fourth generation that has already joined the business, with responsibilities in online sales and in the interior design advisory department, a service "that adds value to the brand and builds customer loyalty."
Barcelona and Madrid, balanced
Currently, Pilma operates with four establishments in Barcelona. The first store on Calle Valencia, a second on Avenida Diagonal ---recently remodeled---, a third on Calle Santa Amèlia, and an outlet on Calle Llança. "Whatever happens, our base is in Barcelona, our design is from Barcelona, but we absorb an increasingly global world."
And with this more international vision, at the end of last year, they made a strong commitment to Madrid. With an investment of 15 million euros, they opened the first furniture and decoration store of their own brand PLM Design, on Calle Velázquez, in the heart of the Salamanca neighborhood. "The idea is to attract people from all over Spain; in Madrid there is a lot of dynamism, people visit it from all parts of the territory, and we are reaching audiences from everywhere".
This point of sale has joined another that opened in 2014, on Calle Serrano, but only for the complementary business of distributing travel items, mainly suitcases, Pilma Travel. This brand contributes 15% of the global business with the exclusive distribution for Spain of the brands FPM from Milano; Floyd, a Bavarian brand aimed at a younger audience; and Tecknomonster, an innovative Italian brand that works with carbon fiber products. In addition, they market the American brands Tumi and Samsonite. Pilma Travel is aimed at foreign audiences, more than local, with another store in Puerto Banús (Marbella) and a shop in shop on Diagonal in Barcelona.
Good prospects for 2022
Pilma closed 2021 with a global turnover of 15.8 million euros, a figure slightly higher than the 15 million in 2019, and "we have had a very favorable start to the year." Excluding Madrid or Marbella, Barcelona stores have registered growth of 67%. "People have regained interest in their home, in having it in good condition" and that has favored Pilma's business, a brand aimed at the middle and upper-middle class.
The brand's most common local client is "a professional over 40, who has job stability and a secure life" and who knows that "they won't be wandering around different cities and now want to settle down and get comfortable," with pleasant environments, avoiding trends, with well-thought-out, well-designed, aesthetic, and as timeless as possible pieces.
Natural teak wood from Indonesia
These are the elements on which the Ricard López collection is based when designing furniture. Items that are manufactured outside of Spain. Because, in the furniture sector, "kilometer zero cannot be applied everywhere, especially if it is not produced on an industrial scale." This is how Pau López explains the company's decision to manufacture in Indonesia, one of the main producers of teak wood. "Natural tropical wood, mainly teak, combined with steel materials are the basis of our catalog," he adds.
They produce the products in Indonesia, with the help of European manufacturers established there, not only for cost reasons, but because the Asian country only allows the export of worked wood, to avoid deforestation. In addition, Indonesian authorities promote recycling, as they provide houses built with solid materials to part of the population living in teak wood buildings, which is reused once the house is dismantled. "Our products are absolutely new, designed by Ricard based especially on the knowledge of the industries established in the country of origin, and this is what makes us unique and differentiates us," he specifies.
The range of rest furniture does come from Spain or Europe ---Scandinavia or Baltic countries---.