Molteni&C Opens Its Second Biggest Store Worldwide, in Milan
MILAN — With sweeping views of the rooftops of Milan, nearby museums and upscale homes, Molteni&C has opened its second-largest store in the world here.
On Thursday, the company said the flagship, which spans 32,219 square feet, features interior designs by Flemish designer and architect Vincent Van Duysen, Molteni&C’s creative director.
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Throughout, Van Duysen created a sense of intimacy with marble detailing, fireplaces and an expansive grid skylight with a view of the building’s atrium.
The Milan flagship is located on Via Manzoni 9, within Milan’s luxury Quadrilatero shopping district. Molteni&C’s Corso Europa store has been closed, though its Via Solferino retail space remains open. The Art Nouveau property is located just opposite of Milan’s Poldi Pezzoli Museum and just 100 meters away from the La Scala theater.
The Via Manzoni 9 building is owned by Merope Asset Management, which bought the property in three acquisition tranches between December 2019 and February 2020, the asset management firm said on its website.
The construction of the Manzoni 9 building, in neo-Renaissance style, dates back to the second half of the 19th century, and was renovated in 1922 by Giuseppe Mentasti and Stefano Lissoni in Milanese Liberty style with Art Nouveau detailing. The building was once the home of Prospero Moisè Loria, a businessman, philanthropist and benefactor.
Merope also owns Palazzo Bernasconi, which houses Casa Cipriani, Ralph Lauren’s via della Spiga 5 location, Palazzo del Principe di Piombino in Corso Venezia 56 which is expected to house RH for its grand Milan opening in the near term.
In terms of openings, Molteni&C has been on a roll, unveiling stores worldwide since the ebb of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, it opened its largest flagship in the world in Shanghai with local partner Domus Tiandi.
The China store spans almost 38,000 square feet and two floors.
Molteni Group, a family-controlled company, remains one of the biggest Italian design firms by revenue and has been on a store-opening spree since 2023. The group is now present in more than 100 countries, with more than 700 stores and 100 monobrand flagships. In 2023, the firm opened flagships in Melbourne; Kunming and Taichung, China; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Doha, Qatar; Frankfurt, and Helsinki. In 2024, stores were unveiled in cities like Washington D.C., San Francisco and another in Majorca, Spain.
Molteni Group, which owns Molteni&C, UniFor and Citterio, had a consolidated turnover of 475 million euros in 2023, 70 percent of which was international.
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