Moooi founders Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers have repurchased the remaining stake from B&B Italia, making them now fully owners of Moooi. Wanders and Vissers have been running Moooi ever since its launch in 2001 – Wanders acting as art director and Vissers as company CEO. Ever since, they have collaborated intensively together.
Moooi and B&B Italia have been partners since 2006, when B&B Italia S.P.A. acquired a 50-per-cent stake in Moooi B.V. To everyone’s satisfaction the synergy between B&B Italia and Moooi, under the full management of Vissers and Wanders, worked out very well. During this fruitful and meaningful eight-year collaboration, Moooi grew from six-million-euro revenue in 2006 to 23-million-euro revenue in 2014. Giorgio Busnelli (chairman of B&B Italia), Paola Centemero (CFO of B&B Italia) and all B&B Italia team members had a key role in Moooi’s growth.
Moooi’s steady growing business gained huge attention in the international design field, becoming a recognized luxury furniture and lighting brand that conquered an important position in the design industry (exporting now to 69 countries) with huge potential for further expansion and acceleration. A growing milestone has been achieved despite a challenging design market over the past two years. The coming years will represent strong continuous growth for Moooi.
In addition to having conquered the European market, the U.S. market has also grown significantly. In May 2015, Moooi will open its first brand store in New York, to which will follow a London brand store the beginning of 2017.
All the above steps once again reaffirm Wanders’ and Vissers’ strong belief in the company’s value and immense potential.
ALL ABOUT MARCEL WANDERS
Marcel Wanders grew up in Boxtel, the Netherlands, and graduated cum laude from the School of the Arts Arnhem in 1988. In 1995 he opened his own studio Wanders Wonders, and in 2001 Marcel Wanders studio based in Amsterdam. His fame started with his iconic Knotted Chair, which he produced for Droog Design in 1996. He is now ubiquitous, designing for leading international companies such as Alessi, Bisazza, Kosé Corporation/Cosme Decorte, Flos, KLM, Swarovski, Puma, among scores of others. In 2001 Wanders co-founded the successful design label Moooi, of which he is co-owner and art director.
Additionally, Marcel Wanders works on architectural and interior design projects, such as the new Kameha Grand hotel in Zurich (2015) and Bonn (2010), the Mira Moon Hotel in Hong Kong (2013, in partnership with property development brand Yoo), the Mondrian South Beach hotel in Miami (2008), the Villa Moda Flagship store in Bahrain (2008), as well as private residences in Amsterdam, Istanbul, Mallorca and Jakarta. In November 2012, Marcel celebrated the opening of his first owned and designed hotel, Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht, which is operated by Hyatt Hotel’s boutique ‘Andaz’ brand.
Many of Marcel Wanders’ designs have been selected for the most important design collections and exhibitions in the world and feature in all leading magazines.
ALL ABOUT CASPER VISSERS
Casper Vissers co-founded Moooi with Marcel Wanders in 2001 and the company now sells lighting and furniture to 69 countries with showrooms and brand stores all over the world. Vissers’ steering role at Moooi deploys a unique combination of creativity, entrepreneurial flair and business sense; this mixture of skills and intuition has propelled the business forward whilst maintaining the 11 original values established at Moooi’s inception. Casper’s role over the past years has been in defining and evolving the brand’s visually unique marketing strategy which has always positioned Moooi as an iconic brand producing objects of beauty which possess the uniqueness and character of timeless pieces combined with the freshness of modern times; a mix of lighting, furniture and accessories which outlast everyday interiors.
ALL ABOUT MOOOI
For more than 10 years, Moooi has inspired and seduced the world with sparkling and innovative designs. The venture founded in 2001 by Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers is named after their native Dutch word for beautiful – the third “o” in the brand name stands for an extra value in terms of beauty and uniqueness. The core strengths of both men continue to complement each other perfectly; Marcel, the obstinate, passionate designer with a nose for business; and Casper, the driven marketeer with a keen eye for design. Since 2013 the company’s art direction is in the hands of Marcel Wanders and Desirée de Jong. Wanders and Vissers maintain an influence in all inclusions to the brand, being both responsible for the overall design selection. In addition to Marcel Wanders’ designs, the Moooi portfolio contains a range of work from other nationally and internationally recognized designers, including Jurgen Bey, Bertjan Pot, Maarten Baas, Jaime Hayon, Neri & Hu, Joost van Bleiswijk, Studio Job and Nika Zupanc.
The collection’ style is exclusive, daring, playful, exquisite and based on the belief that design is a question of love. Timeless objects of beauty which posses the uniqueness and character of antiques combined with the freshness of modern times. This fusion brings the brand to focus on the production of iconic objects.
For more info, visit www.moooi.com