Flos acquires Lukas Lighting
(Italy) – Acquisition of NYC-based custom lighting manufacturer looks to boost Flos’ North America custom and manufacturing capabilities.
Flos is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Mr. Craig Corona for the acquisition of his company Lukas Lighting. With this move, the talent of Craig Corona and his 30-year experience in custom lighting will give a great boost to the Flos growth in the North American contract market. The already successful introduction of Flos Architectural – the professional lighting systems of the Group – in the US will now benefit from the fantastic synergy with Lukas Lighting in order to guarantee Flos clients the best product range and design service.
NYC-based Lukas Lighting specialises in the design, development, and manufacturing of custom lighting products. Its custom division develops projects including, but not limited to, corporate interiors, retail chains, and hospitality with the possibility to tailor and engineer each project based on specific clients’ needs. In recent years, Lukas Lighting has produced installations at projects such as JP Morgan Chase, Michael Kors, Four Seasons Hotels, and many more.
With the recent and quick growth of its contract division, Flos USA sees Lukas Lighting’s market position in line with its expansion goals in the areas of distribution, service and production. This integration will facilitate quicker time to market and the ability to offer an extended range of customised solutions.
Flos, historically famous for its iconic designs and more recently also for its architectural lighting solutions, also acquired Ares, a leading manufacturer of architectural outdoor lighting, in March this year to compete effectively and successfully in the outdoor sector on global markets. Now, the addition of Lukas Lighting’s custom manufacturing represents the opportunity for Flos to better serve the US market and to offer a complete range of lighting solutions for every environment.
Flos CEO Piero Gandini said: ‘‘For a long time we have been looking at the North American market to find the right entity and the right talent to give us the chance to repeat the very successful business model that we have in Europe where the mix between decorative design, professional products and custom product capability brought tremendous results. Craig Corona and his company Lukas Lighting are the perfect solution: a sophisticated and super skilled business unit, able to support all the Flos business with the best design and engineering capabilities for custom solutions. It is for me a reason of great satisfaction and pride to work with a professional talent like Craig Corona and all the Lukas Lighting team from now on.’’
‘‘The acquisition of Lukas Lighting, less than eight months after the purchase of Ares, underlines the rapid growth trajectory along which Investindustrial is guiding Flos’’, said Andrea C. Bonomi, Managing Principal at Investindustrial. ‘‘We are delighted that Flos is swiftly realising the growth plan developed at entry in partnership with Piero Gandini which centers on strengthening the global leadership position of the Company. These add-on transactions underline the attractive nature of Flos’ platform in further developing niche leaders and allow the Company to deliver a full range of lighting solutions to high-end business and consumer clients.’’
Flos USA CEO Jan Vingerhoets added: ‘‘This acquisition will strengthen FLOS USA’s position in the contract market and facilitate North American expansion for both companies, with a made in the USA aspect that will allow us to deliver quicker and more complete solutions for specifiers.’’
Lukas Lighting CEO Craig Corona commented: ‘‘When the subject of joining forces first arose, I immediately knew it would be very beneficial for both companies. Strategic fit was not an issue; we each have what the other needs to grow: the customer base will now have access to the best of architectural and decorative lighting products, both standard and customised, in one place.’’
