Spanish Outdoor Furniture Firm Kettal Takes Majority Stake in Italy’s Driade

MILAN — Nemo Group, which acquired Driade in October 2024, has sold a majority stake in the Italian furniture house to Spain’s Kettal Group.

Nemo Group will remain a minority shareholder, ensuring the continuity of Italian craftsmanship and serving as a bridge to Driade’s history, values, and cultural roots, the firm said Tuesday.

The company’s headquarters will remain in Italy, the firm added.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Spain-based Kettal is a global leader in the outdoor furniture industry. Going forward, Kettal and Nemo will work together to relaunch the famed brand with a more “Mediterranean-centered vision of design,” stated Driade.

Driade was founded in Milan in 1968 by art director Enrico Astori, designer Antonia Astori and Adelaide Acerbi, who led the brand’s image and communication. Avant garde designers Enzo Mari and Nanda Vigo were crucial at its inception: Mari with the Sof Sof chair and Vigo with her furry Blocco seat. 

Achille Castiglioni, Alessandro Mendini and Philippe Starck are also among its roster of collaborators. Fabio Novembre was appointed art director of Driade in 2019. Kettal’s chief executive officer Alex Alorda said his aim is to enhance the firm’s competitiveness on a global stage.

“This is not a simple acquisition but an authentic collaboration born from mutual respect and the belief that true innovation arises from the meeting of different cultures and competencies. Driade deserves to reclaim its place on the international design scene,” Alorda said.

Kettal started in 1964 producing aluminum camping gear in Catalonia, Spain, but shifted its focus to create functional and stylish outdoor furniture.

When Nemo Group, a lighting company that owns Nemo Lighting, bought Driade, it was the first time the firm had ventured into the furniture world.

Prior to the acquisition, Driade was owned, along with historic lighting maker FontanaArte, by Italian Creation Group.

FontanaArte, which Nemo Group’s CEO Federico Palazzari most coveted, traces its origins back to 1881 with Luigi Fontana, who started making float glass, or sheets of glass, for the construction industry in Milan. In 1931, his firm Luigi Fontana & C. appointed Gio Ponti its art director. 

Palazzari said that Kettal is the right partner to enhance Driade’s reputation in a new era of modern design. “Our true competitors are geographic and cultural barriers, and therefore our real goal is to create synergies to promote a culture of design.”