Interview: Oliver Kleine
Foto: Oliver Kleine
In recent years, the brand with the white clouds in its emblem has evolved from a glass and giftware provider into a modern lifestyle brand. Today around 80 percent of the German population know LEONARDO, the 1972-registered lifestyle brand of the Glaskoch company from Bad Driburg where, since its opening in May 2007, the LEONARDO glass cube has been giving the brand a constructed architectural face. This year CEO Oliver Kleine celebrated the company’s 150th anniversary. LEONARDO originally conveyed an Italian attitude to life. In the 1980s, its design language was characterised by the Bauhaus style with a dash of Memphis – dreams in glass that were affordable, decorative and attractively designed. The brand aims for modern design and innovation in both its products and its architecture. By collaborating with designers such as ...
You give me the impression you’ve got a very clear vision. Where will that vision take you?
You’re right, I have. I’d like us to evolve from a glass provider into a lifestyle brand. We want to translate the glass experience in such a way that it can be experienced in the retail sector, and that’s what we have to achieve in our LEONARDO shops. LEONARDO wants people to experience glass with all their senses: glass for decorating, glass for furnishing, glass with a fragrance, glass you can wear ... It’s a fantastic material with a tremendous history and great potential. On top of that, we want to join forces with certain institutions to develop glass in such a way that we can take glass production in a whole new direction. But it’s a vision that could well take years to realise.
In January you presented the new furniture brand LEONARDO living at the imm cologne. How has it panned out?
We set off for Cologne feeling really optimistic, but it actually even exceeded our expectations. We were surprised at the tremendously positive response to our furniture collection from clients and consumers. The people who visited our fair stand soon realised why we had decided to take LEONARDO down this path. They found our living concept very convincing. It’s a further step towards becoming a lifestyle brand.
Author: Frank A. Reinhardt
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Oliver Kleine in an interview about:
- The LEONARDO brand’s commitment to lifestyle design
- Glass as core competency
- Collaboration with successful designers
- Future developments
Further Information:
- Title: How malleable is a brand?
- Company profile LEONARDO