Italian homewares etailer LoveTheSign is launching a dedicated UK website and expanding its operations in this country as it caters to growing demand.
The retailer, which sells products from Italian brands including Alessi and Casamania, says the UK is now a key focus for its international expansion. The launch of an English language and currency website is now backed up by an expanded UK customer support team, in-house logistics operations run from the UK, and increased sales and marketing. At the same time the team will look for products that cater to UK tastes.
LoveTheSign sells 15,000 products from 1,000 Italian and international designer brands, while the website features weekly flash sales.
It was founded three years ago by Simone Panfilo, chief executive, Laura Angius and Vincenzo Cannata, who all previously worked at ecommerce retailer Privalia. In 2015 it won more than $4m in Series A funding led by United Ventures. Since then it has grown by about 20% a month, and is now expanding internationally, starting with the UK and Europe, and later planning to launch in the US.
Panfilo said: “Italy has long been at the forefront of innovative homeware design but until now it has been very difficult for international buyers to lay their hands on original Italian designs. We are bridging this huge gap in the market and work with established brands as well as up-and-coming talent to bring Italian homeware style to a wider audience.
“We have dipped our toes into the UK market over the last year and have found a highly sophisticated design culture with an incredible thirst for stylish, high-quality but not overpriced homewares, which has led us to the conviction that the UK should be a key focus for our international expansion.”
