In Düsseldorf, the Molteni&C|Dada Flagship Store opened in the Kö-Quartier on 19 May 2022. It is the first German store of the Italian furniture group Molteni Group and it belongs to Patrick Treutlein, the Düsseldorf interior designer and entrepreneur. Patrick Treutlein runs a company from Meerbusch that now has 85 employees and 900 upstream suppliers, of which the Molteni Group is one of the largest. According to Patrick Treutlein, the new Molteni Flagship Store is one of the most elaborate in the world. He deliberately wanted to break away from the quality standards of a normal retail store. Already in the entrance area there is a terrazzo, which is untypical for retail stores, because the designer decided that a Molteni piece of furniture should also stand on an adequate floor.

Following Patrick Treutlein, the Italian furniture industry has been a leader for 20 years. The world's most important brands are located in Lombardy; where the Molteni Group is also based. Molteni has helped shape over 100 years of Italian design history. In this interview, Patrick Treutlein talks about the design excellence of Italian manufacturers and how the German furniture market will continue to develop for the Italians. After the past two years, which were extremely profitable for interior suppliers, he says there will be a concentration of brands in the trade. The interview with Patrick Treutlein, however, is primarily about the story of an interior design entrepreneur who sees himself as the agent of his customers' taste. He set up his company 25 years ago in Meerbusch and today furnishes private residences and company properties both nationally and internationally, for example on the Balearic Islands. 

His beginnings were down-to-earth and started with a one-man business in an unheated garage. Highly educated today, he defines the cornerstones of his business on the tradition of craftsmanship, trade orientation and focus on planning.

June 27, 2022

Interview Directory 

ART

Name: Patrick Treutlein

Occupation: Interior designer and entrepreneur

Surprising:  "The Corona years were the best years I have ever experienced. Completely counter-cyclical."

Provenance: Meerbusch, Düsseldorf

Preferences: Probably Düsseldorf's most beautiful showroom.

How did your cooperation with the Molteni Group start?

We established a dealer cooperation 8 years ago. This resulted in a shop-in-shop situation with a larger share within our portfolio. One and a half years ago, we decided to open the first German store together with the Molteni Group. The group has 72 shops worldwide. From the cost of setting up the Molteni store, we are talking about a factor of 3.5. We broke out of the quality standards of a normal retail store. This was a very conscious strategic decision because quality is paramount. The Molteni family noted at the opening that it was not the biggest store in the world, but the finest. There is a terrazzo floor in the entrance area, which makes no economic sense. But we think that the floor on which a Molteni piece of furniture stands must have the same claim. A very subjective Patrick Treutlein way of thinking.  In October 2021, we started the construction work and in the process we had to reconcile the Molteni CI with my quality requirements. We built everything ourselves and then hired the Molteni key objects.

An Italian brand should invest in a showroom in Germany?

Germany is not like Asia a market that has to be completely conquered from scratch. The counter-trend is the case. Market concentration - manufacturers no longer want to have their products distributed in a watering can approach. A few selected distributors can achieve more in terms of sales.

"The Italians have a head start that has grown over decades and have shown, especially in the last 20 years, that they can clearly outperform the German furniture industry."

What do German customers appreciate about Italian manufacturers?

The Italians have a head start that has grown over decades and have shown, especially in the last 20 years, that they can clearly outperform the German furniture industry. The world's leading brands are based in Lombardy and Brianza, smaller ones also in the south. We are also always on the lookout for new products, e.g. we recently discovered a lighting technology producer in Venice. A strong concentration is emerging. There are fewer brands, but they are getting bigger. This is also the case with the Molteni Group. Molteni is a self-contained concept of kitchens, dressing rooms, carpets and living areas. They cover the Midcentury world completely. The difference between German and Italian manufacturers is above all the design approach. Each era has its own design language. The 40s and 50s of the last century were very design-savvy and design classics were developed in Italy that are still defining in our time. 

Can you tell me something about the Molteni Museum?

Molteni has helped shape over 100 years of Italian design history. One of the oldest Italian industrial families in furniture construction created control systems in the 1920s that are now design classics and can be found in museums such as the MOMA.

How big is the Patrick Treutlein company by now?

We have almost 900 subcontractors, which distinguishes us from many other companies. In the interior sector, we cover the portfolio holistically and not just a part that we ourselves find good. Basically from ultra purist to heavy baroque.

How did your career as an entrepreneur start? What was your first project?

I started very down-to-earth with a commercial apprenticeship at Fausel Biskamp, a traditional Düsseldorf company. After my apprenticeship, I completed my master's degree in interior design and studied interior architecture in Cologne at the same time. I founded my first company in an unheated garage. These are also the cornerstones of my company, because we are very craft-oriented, trade-oriented and highly planning. In the meantime, we are 85 employees with 4 branches in Düsseldorf. There is the Molteni Store, a kitchen branch and 2 Patrick Treutlein Multibrand Stores. My clientele comes from all over Germany. I have a team in Munich and in Hamburg, we are strategically well positioned axially.

Which is actually your favourite era?

You have to distinguish between what you find exciting and what you would like to live in. I find Art Deco exciting because it has a lot to do with our time politically. Art Deco developed out of a euphoric mood in the world. Very outward-looking and almost slipping into a luxurious perversion. But I personally don't want to live in it. I like classical approaches, but they have to go modern.

"A melange of craft skills, commercial activity and planning activity."

What do customers find at the Patrick Treutlein multi-brand store? What budget do you bring with you, if I may ask? Would they come across you yourself?

We welcome the customer with his or her wish. This can be a single sofa and can become an overall concept that has causalities far beyond the sofa. We have 12 interior designers and everyone, including me, has their own clients and projects. I myself, for example, like to plan dressing rooms, but I will never talk to the client about the number of clothes rails or how many shoes go in. For me, an overarching quality is important, because every product is made up of several factors. The classic merchandise: this can be a sofa, which, if it doesn't exist, is built in our workshops. It is always a melange of craftsmanship, commercial activity and planning activity. Some customers buy a single piece for 300 euros up to project sizes of 2.8 million. This was the biggest project in our company's history so far, but this year it will be surpassed 2 times.

"The best years I have ever experienced. Completely counter-cyclical."

During Corona, more was invested in the home?

Anyone in our industry who hasn't made money in the last 2 years is doing something wrong. They were the best years I have ever experienced. Completely counter-cyclical. I have always worked anti-cyclically. Every investment I made was within the biggest crisis, like in 2008 and 2011. Every time I made an opening, something happened. The opening of the Grünstrasse showroom was exactly in the first lockdown. However, because I am a registered craft business, we were systemically relevant and effectively never closed for a day.

With such a large company, can you still work as a designer at all or do your administrative tasks predominate?

It is based on my workload. At 6 o'clock in the morning I take care of the internal company matters and from 10 o'clock on I can deal with design. Strategic issues are becoming more and more part of my job.

"We are classically modern but we don't want to impose a design dictate."

What is Patrick Treutlein's style message?

We have suppliers in Italy, Scandinavia, Australia and from all over the world. The unifying factor is quality. We are classically modern but we don't want to impose a design dictate. We see ourselves as fulfilling the taste of the customers. We probe hard at the beginning, and even take a wrong turn once in a while to see how it works properly.

What would you still like to achieve in your life? What is the future of the Patrick Treutlein company?

I started my own business at the age of 24 and have brought a lot of personality into this company. I would like to stay involved for the next 10 years and then hand over to a successor. Since the company has developed so much in the last 10 years, this is my personal challenge.

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The designer in his Düsseldorf Flagship store @Patrick Treutlein