In the year of records for Italian design, Kdln is not only no exception, but collects results above the industry average. In fact, 2021 closed for the small Milanese lighting company (founded in 1996 with the name of Kundalini) with revenues up by 30%, to 4.5 million, and sales abroad up by 43%.
“But these are not the numbers that interest us – explains the president Stefano Bordone – if anything, the growth compared to 2019, which had been an excellent year for us, is significant”. Well, the comparison with the last pre-pandemic year records + 14% for turnover and + 29% for exports. «For this year it is difficult to make forecasts – explains Bordone -. Demand is still strong and in fact we aim to exceed 5 million in revenues, but the context is what we know well, so we’ll see ».
For sure, the company has prepared the ground for further growth. “In 2020 we had some time to think about our strategy and plan investments – says the entrepreneur -: we wanted to be ready for the restart of the market”. New specific certifications were made for the markets considered most interesting (including Russia, which for obvious reasons is currently on “stand by”), new marketing strategies were developed and, above all, the restyling of the brand and logo.
Kundalini has thus become Kdln, a name considered more suitable for an international market (given that the company exports 75% of its production), giving a clean break to the image of the past, “to look ahead in a slightly different way” Bordone explains: «The product had already changed a lot compared to the first years and then we decided to invest with even greater conviction in foreign markets. We were focusing a lot on the former Soviet area, which for the moment is still, but also on the United States and Canada. Again we have obtained all the necessary certifications and have hired a team specifically for that market. In the future we would like to open a branch ».
The first country for exports remains France, but good results are also coming from the Middle East, China and Asia, where the company’s presence has become more structural and continuous than in the past.