Furla opens new production facility in Italy

Furla has new industrial complex called Progetto Italia opening in Tuscany, Italy. The new complex is right in the heart of Tuscany’s Chianti area in Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, just outside of Florence. The news was reported by WWD.

The new facility is a striking 464,000 square feet and has three main buildings covering 197,000 square feet dedicated to offices production, and logistics. The complex was designed by Geza studio in Udine, Italy, winner of the 2017 and 2019 American Architecture Prize.

Progetto Italia will serve as the new main handbag production facility for Furla, possibly also developing some of Furla’s smaller leather goods too. The investment in the new complex was 30 million euros.

The new plant was three years in the making, with the site expected to be completely up and running by the end of the month. It is currently expected to house 130 employees. Furla is expecting a hiring spree in September after a hiring freeze due to COVID-19. The new complex will also be home to the Furla Academy where they will train a next generation of craftspeople to specialize in creating Furla products.

Furla did take a major hit from the global COVID-19 pandemic with a double-digit decrease in sale, but the brand is expecting a rebound for 2022 and 2023 as they focus on a rebound strategy for this 2021. Revenues in China are already up 73 percent. Online sales were already up 60 percent for Q1 of this year.