New Trump tariffs target steel and aluminum, Kohler makes a cameo at NYFW, and more

2025.02.20

Business News

Just a few weeks after Flos B&B Italia Group chief executive Daniel Lalonde unexpectedly stepped down from his role, the company is now reportedly entertaining offers to sell off its furniture division, according to a recent article in Women’s Wear Daily. Sources close to the situation told WWD that Haworth—the owner of brands like Poltrona Frau, Janus et Cie and Cassina—made an offer between $829 million and $1 billion for Flos B&B Italia’s furniture division, which includes brands like B&B Italia, Audo Copenhagen and Azucena. Apparently, the company deemed the informal offer too low and refused it; Haworth, meanwhile, declined the publication’s request for comment. After taking the company’s helm in 2021, Lalonde championed a vision for the group as the “LVMH of Home,” and rolled out a series of shared showrooms in Milan, Copenhagen and New York. WWD reports that he departed the company after failing to reach an agreement on restructuring plans.

In the latest news on the Trump tariffs, the administration announced last week that it would delay its suspension of the “de minimis” provision—a policy that allows imports worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free—until “adequate systems are in place” to process and collect the associated tariff revenue. As CNN Business reports, the policy not only helped give rise to Chinese e-commerce sites like Temu, Shein and AliExpress (which sell everything from fast fashion to cheap home goods and furniture), but also benefited other retailers that ship from China, such as Amazon, eBay and Etsy—more than 80 percent of total U.S. e-commerce shipments in 2022 classified as de minimis imports. Then, on Monday, Trump announced a new tariff: a 25 percent tax on all imported steel and aluminum, to begin next month. While the decision (a repeat of 2018 but this time without an exemption for Mexico and Canada) could benefit domestic steel and aluminum producers, it will likely raise costs for businesses that rely on importing the materials.

When the Los Angeles wildfires reached the Pacific Palisades, they destroyed more than 6,800 structures and damaged nearly 1,000 more in one of the country’s wealthiest communities—which, following the rebuilding process, may now become even more exclusive. According to The New York Times, members of the affluent enclave (where the typical home is valued at $3.7 million) are attempting to influence the area’s rebuild by advocating for buried power lines, upgraded water and energy infrastructure, fireproof homes—and limited affordable housing, which they believe will slow down or limit the full scope of their plans. Though the city’s policymakers have pushed back on that idea (and state laws mandate cities increase affordable housing), some ordinances may guarantee that the Palisades will be rebuilt with greater housing disparities: In January, Mayor Karen Bass signed an executive order allowing homeowners to rebuild 110 percent of their original square footage, which gives those who lost larger homes the capacity to expand significantly more than those with smaller properties.

Global alternative investment firm Strategic Value Partners has signed an agreement to make a $207 million preferred equity investment in Sweden- and Croatia-based Bjelin Group, which has a 100 percent ownership stake in flooring manufacturer Bjelin Industries and a 51 percent stake in sister company Välinge Group. The latter includes a licensing arm and an industrial company for large-scale flooring and furniture. The funding will allow the conglomerate, which sells its brands through dealers and independent retailers across the U.S., to acquire Välinge Group’s industrial segment and merge it with Bjelin Industries. With the acquisition (expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025), Bjelin Group aims to scale the production of its sustainably sourced Woodura flooring line, and it anticipates that Välinge Group’s licensing arm will eventually seek to go public.

San Francisco–based private equity firm SBJ Capital has purchased an unspecified stake in the Vermont-based glass and pottery maker Simon Pearce, VTDigger reports. Explaining the deal, Simon Pearce CEO Jay Benson cited the age of the company’s namesake founder, who is now in his 70s, and noted that the Pearce family decided over a decade ago that the company would not be passed on to the next generation. Benson says the company has no plans to relocate its headquarters or manufacturing facilities or to reduce staffing levels. He would not disclose the dollar amount of the sale or who now controls the majority stake in the company.

Princeton, New Jersey–based architecture, planning and interior design firm Michael Graves Architecture has acquired Los Angeles–based Kollin Altomare Architects. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. For Michael Graves, the deal marks an expansion in territory (strengthening its reach in the West Coast and Midwest markets) and category (Kollin Altomare specializes in luxury hospitality). Through the purchase, the L.A. firm will be integrated into the larger Michael Graves organization, though founder, president and CEO Michael Kollin will continue to lead the 20-person team. This is the latest in a string of acquisitions the company has executed in recent years, having recently scooped up firms like Maryland-based Waldon Studio Architects, New Jersey–based Jose Carballo Architectural Group and North Carolina–based Walter Robbs Callahan & Pierce Architects.

Kohler tapped Laura Kim for a new campaign that combines Kim’s creative prowess with one of the brand’s newest products: the Veil smart toilet Courtesy of Kohler

Launches and Collaborations

Renowned designer Robert Stilin and gallerist Sarah Gavlak have teamed up to launch the “Living With Art and Design” exhibition at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in West Palm Beach. Running until March 16, the collaboration sees Stilin reimagine the property’s historic home—previously occupied by the site’s namesake sculptor—with a selection of furniture, lighting and decor from his favorite New York galleries and his own shop, alongside pieces chosen from Gavlak’s stable of contemporary artists.

Ligne Roset has announced the opening of a new museum and multipurpose education space called Studio 1860. Located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, the space was built on the site of the original Ligne Roset factory, its name a nod to the fifth-generation family-owned furniture manufacturer’s 165 years in operation. The historic museum—which includes a training school for upholstery and sewing, a factory store, and a garden dedicated to outdoor furniture—will house an exhibit featuring 42 archival pieces, including work from design icons like Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and Philippe Starck.

The Home Edit—the organizing and lifestyle company helmed by entrepreneurs Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin—has announced the launch of a new app for organizing professionals. The Organizing Society, as it’s called, hosts features like home organization tutorials and planning resources, Q&A sessions with Shearer and Teplin, perks and discounts, and community spaces for networking with fellow professional organizers.

Kohler tapped Laura Kim, co–creative director of fashion labels Monse and Oscar de la Renta, for a new campaign that combines Kim’s creative prowess with one of the kitchen and bath brand’s newest products: the Veil smart toilet in the hue Honed Black. She brought the product to life through her own lens by designing an elegant black chiffon dress inspired by the aesthetics of the fixture, and then debuted her creation last weekend during Monse’s Spring 2025 runway show at New York Fashion Week.

Philippe Brocart—the former managing director of Maison&Objet and head of Material Bank Europe—has launched a new event called Release AEC, which is geared toward the architecture, engineering and construction community. According to a statement Brocart shared on LinkedIn, the gathering will help trade professionals tackle technological and environmental challenges, and is set to debut in Paris on November 17.

Showroom Representation

West Hollywood–based home furnishings gallery Mogul is now the exclusive representative in the Western U.S. for the artist Isaac Katz. Known for combining nature-inspired forms with contemporary materials like cast bronze, resin, concrete and stainless steel, Katz’s work includes tables, seating, sculptures and wall panels.

Los Angeles–based glass designer and artist Alison Berger has announced several new showroom relationships: Thomas Lavin in L.A., De Sousa Hughes in San Francisco and The Bright Group in New York. The news marks the start of a new era for Berger—who was represented by Holly Hunt for more than 25 years up until the brand was acquired by Knoll a decade ago—and will be followed by the launch of her first collection in two years, set to debut in April.

Recommended Reading

The right vintage piece can add character and intrigue to any space—but that doesn’t mean it needs to be taken at face value. For The New York Times, Tim McKeough consults designers like Rayman Boozer, Dan Fink and Emma Kemper on how they’ve breathed new life into antiques through restoration, repurposing and recovering.

It’s been a whirlwind few years for those following microtrends on TikTok—between “clowncore,” “tomato girl summer” and “unexpected red,” it’s hard to tell if any viral aesthetics will survive past their 15 minutes of fame. For Elle Decor, Julia Cancilla consults experts on the few online style movements that merit a second look.