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Intesa Sanpaolo and Salone del Mobile.Milano: a partnership for the chain of value
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“Design Factories: Italian Home Furnishings Manufacturers 1950–2000”, published by Allemandi with the support of Intesa Sanpaolo and Salone del Mobile.Milano
An institutional partner of the Salone del Mobile, the bank assists firms in the furniture supply chain with a dedicated program by supporting Made in Italy in its expansion
Competing in the furniture system today is not just a matter of design quality and business skills. It is is indispensable to work within an ecosystem of specialized players who support the company both strategically and at the service level. Within this framework, the banking system continues to play a role of primary importance, especially in an increasingly dynamic and uncertain landscape, which must not be allowed to threaten a company’s potential. Consultancy, access to financing, relationships with specialized partners, and support in foreign markets represent indispensable elements for a company's strategic vision and the activation of business innovation processes.
An institutional partner of Salone del Mobile.Milano since 2017, Intesa Sanpaolo has developed the Supply Chain Development Program over the years. It is designed to support the entire Made in Italy value chain and is tailored to Italian creative companies and the distinctive needs of the sector. Since 2020, the bank has disbursed 26 billion euros to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the furniture, clothing, food, and automation sectors: a catalyst with significant economic impact, certainly, but also a commitment with social implications, as it sustains an entrepreneurial fabric that has built the identity of Italian manufacturing and, by extension, the entire country.
The opportunity to discuss the relationship between creative companies and the banking system was provided by a meeting that brought together the leadership of the Group and that of Salone del Mobile.Milano. Titled “Design and Made in Italy: Intesa Sanpaolo’s Support for Italian Enterprise and Creative Vision on the Global Stage”, held on 8 April 2026, at the bank’s museum, the Gallerie d’Italia-Milano, the event reviewed the figures and the impact of this Italian excellence. Over the years, the Supply Chain Development Program, developed by the Bank of the Territories Division, has reached the main hubs of creativity in Italy – from furniture to clothing, from food to automation – involving 240 supply chains, more than 32,000 employees and almost 7,700 suppliers, for a turnover that exceeds 32 billion euros between companies active in Made in Italy and related industries.
“Design and Made in Italy: Intesa Sanpaolo’s Support for Italian Enterprise and Creative Vision on the Global Stage”, Gallerie d’Italia-Milano
“Design Factories: Italian Home Furnishings Manufacturers 1950–2000”, published by Allemandi with the support of Intesa Sanpaolo and Salone del Mobile.Milano
“Design and Made in Italy: Intesa Sanpaolo’s Support for Italian Enterprise and Creative Vision on the Global Stage”, Gallerie d’Italia-Milano
The discussion elicited a shared vision of the Italian production system, in which the collective dimension and teamwork proved to be decisive in building visibility and international success. This synergy can continue to play a central role even in the current economic situation, marked by geopolitical instability and the need to strengthen companies’ presence on foreign markets through exports. “Alongside the Salone del Mobile.Milano, the bank supports a production ecosystem in which creativity, industrial culture and manufacturing capacity translate into competitive value on global markets,” said Stefano Barrese, Head of the Bank of the Territories Division of Intesa Sanpaolo, during the encounter. “At a time when uncertainty requires vision and adequate tools, support for design becomes a lever to accompany companies towards innovation, internationalization and sustainable growth, reaffirming the central role of Made in Italy as the country’s economic and cultural driver.”
“The collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo is part of a shared path of attention and support for the Made in Italy design supply chain, with the value of business, creativity and industrial culture at the center,” reiterated Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano. “The Salone is thus confirmed as a reference platform not only for creativity, but also for the dialogue between the production system and the tools that accompany its growth, helping to strengthen the value and competitiveness of Made in Italy on global markets.”
The meeting was also an opportunity to celebrate the reprint of a historic volume on creativity Made in Italy, “Design Factories. Manufacturers of Home Furnishings in Italy 1950-2000”, reissued by the publisher Allemandi with the support of Intesa Sanpaolo and the Salone del Mobile.Milano. The author Giuliana Gramigna presents some particularly valuable insights into the eternal supporting actors in books about design, namely companies. Because if it is true that the history of design is often told through the lenses and the protagonism of designers, it is equally true that factories and their supply chains remain essential components for giving substance to designers’ ideas, assisting them not only through their resources and technologies, but also through a vision of the intended uses and the society that benefits from them.
During the days of the Salone del Mobile, a new meeting organized by Intesa Sanpaolo and scheduled for 23 April at 3 p.m., included in the program of talks at the Rho fair, “Italian Furniture and Design. The Role of Finance in Maintaining the Excellence of the Sector at a Global Level”, will explore the link between banking institutions and the world of design for the operators and professionals present in the fair. A way, once again, to build a bridge between industrial culture, ideas, beauty and financial instruments. And to reaffirm the centrality of this link in the trajectories of the sector’s development.
