Affordable design

Company founder and Milan-based designer Peter Solomon is more than happy with the progress of the company, which was established two years ago in the garden furniture sector. Since its launch, export representations have been set up in Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and the Benelux countries, in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland, as well as in Japan and North America.
“We are thrilled by the fast-growing interest of major retailers in our garden furniture,” says Peter Solomon. “We always aimed to bring a fresh and exciting but affordable line to the consumer.”
Partnering him in the business is Joe Mannion, managing director of Eurolink and chairman of the Worldwide DIY Council, the North Am-erican exporters’ association. He has responsibility for business development and for expanding representation in the key export countries. As he explains, “The business model focuses on direct supply to DIY and major retailers internationally, straight from the production plant in northern Italy. In this way the consumer gets exceptional products at affordable prices, and the retailers see an upswing in the extremely competitive garden furniture segment.”
The company was founded on the principle that “low” prices can co-exist with “high” design. At present Altra Design is concentrating on two products: one is the comfortable “altra-ergo” chair, which has won the Chicago Athenaeum Museum’s Good Design Award and has also been nominated for the German Federal Republic's Designprize 2006; the other is the “smooth-table” designed by Peter Solomon. Two more products, “Birdy” and “Casablanca”, are still at the development stage.
The TUV-certified garden furniture is supplied packaged, with a large photo on both sides of the box. The company provides point of purchase displays with each pallet.