An innovative format showcasing Febal Casa’s evolution toward a complete home furnishing offer, combining design, quality, and new openings in Italy and worldwide
The interview with CEO Giovanni Battista Vacchi, published today in Affari & Finanza by La Repubblica (January 12, 2026), highlights Colombini Group’s strategy to navigate a changing global market. Through the Ambassador project, the Group strengthens Febal Casa’s positioning with experiential spaces that reflect modern living in all its dimensions. The brand, which evolved from a kitchen-focused identity to a full home furnishing solution, emphasizes premium-level design and quality while maintaining accessible pricing. In 2025, the Group opened 121 new stores—74 in Italy and 47 abroad—and aims to reach 290 Febal Casa monobrand stores by year-end, with further openings planned in strategic markets such as the United States, Middle East, and Asia.
Here is the interview translated into English
Between retail and foreign markets
The Colombini Group has launched the Ambassador project. CEO Vacchi: “The format reflects the evolution of the Febal Casa brand, which has moved from an initial focus on kitchens to offering complete furnishings for the entire home.”
No longer just a place to live, the home is now increasingly conceived as a multifunctional space capable of integrating work, family life, well-being, and leisure.
This transformation has redefined expectations, consumption habits, and supply models in the furniture sector in recent years, which is now grappling with a complex macroeconomic scenario. “The sector has experienced a period of very strong growth, especially in the post-Covid period, when the home returned to the center of people’s lives,” observes Giovanni Battista Vacchi, CEO of Colombini Group, a San Marino-based group active on the market with the brands Febal Casa, Colombini Casa, Colombini Office, Bontempi, and Colombini Group Contract.
” Since last year, there has been a slowdown in volumes,“ he continues, ”which can be interpreted as a return to more balanced levels, still higher than those before the pandemic. Today, we are in a phase of further consolidation in an international context that remains fragmented.” According to Vacchi, China remains a great opportunity, but consumption of international products and the housing sector are recovering more slowly than expected. In the United States, uncertainty over trade policies and the rising cost of living are holding back purchases of semi-durable goods, while in Europe the main markets are experiencing periods of weakness. Italy remains an interesting market, even though the boost from building renovations, which had sustained demand in recent years, has weakened.
In this scenario, Colombini Group has chosen to strengthen Febal Casa’s positioning through the Ambassador project, designed to enhance design and quality comparable to the luxury segment, while maintaining an affordable price profile. “The format reflects the evolution of the brand, which has moved from an initial focus on kitchens to offering complete furnishings for the entire home,” says Vacchi. In 2025, the group expanded its presence with the opening of approximately 121 new stores, 74 of which are in Italy and 47 abroad, divided between the Febal Casa and Colombini Casa brands. Specifically, Febal Casa opened 24 new stores in international markets and 23 in the domestic market, bringing the total network to around 260 single-brand stores in Italy and abroad. The goal for the current year is to reach at least 290 Febal Casa stores, with around 30 new openings in Italy and a dozen abroad.
The Ambassadors are conceived as experiential spaces, designed to showcase living in its entirety. “We believe that the end customer increasingly needs a single common thread,” emphasizes Vacchi. “Being able to bring the same finishes from the kitchen to the living area or bedroom offers a design flexibility that makes all the difference today.”
The Ambassador project is being developed selectively, both in Italy and on international markets. After opening the first space near the company headquarters in San Marino and another in Milan-Brera, the group is considering further openings in the domestic market, focusing on two or three cities and local partners willing to invest in the project alongside the company.
On the international front, the process is already underway. A first space has been opened in Miami, while new openings are planned in Las Vegas and Dubai in the coming months.
In recent years, contract work has taken on an increasingly strategic role. “For us, it is not an ancillary activity,” explains Vacchi, “but a fundamental lever for growth.” It is an area in which the group can leverage its industrial structure. “We have the capacity to manage complex projects, even on a large scale, while maintaining quality, reliability, and respect for deadlines,” he explains. “The segment currently accounts for about 10% of turnover,” he adds, “and we expect it to continue to grow.” Development is also increasingly coming from abroad. On the international front, the goal is to significantly strengthen the company’s presence in the United States.
At the same time, the group intends to continue its growth in the Middle East, leveraging its collaboration with a local partner in the Emirates, and in the Asia-Pacific region, where two new Febal Casa stores are already planned for this year in Taiwan and Jakarta, through established partnerships. Among European markets, France remains a strategic area, despite the complex socio-political context.
“We are planning to open an operational branch, as we believe the country has high potential for both Febal Casa and Bontempi and Colombini Group Contract,” explains Vacchi. Exports currently account for around 15% of turnover, but the goal is to reach at least 25-30% by 2030. From an economic point of view, “2025 should close in line with 2024, at around €290 million,” concludes the CEO, adding that the order trend strengthens the outlook for the current year.