History and Origins

History and Origins

The story of a record

The "Golden Age" of the post-war economic boom in Italy came to an end in the 1970s with the transition to the current reality of cultural, productive and financial globalisation. In 1972, in a complex period on the eve of the first major oil crisis, Maurizio Gabbai, showing an ability to interpret the long view of market trends and needs, decided to establish Forma Italiana as a contact office for foreign buyers looking for new opportunities in Italy.

The first turning point for the company occurred shortly thereafter, when Forma Italiana became the buying office in Italy for Ikea which, a few years later, acquired the entire branch of the company. This event heralded Forma Italiana's second major change in direction, turning its business towards trading in the sector of perfumery and personal care products.
The entrepreneurial spirit and enormous commercial talent of Maurizio was passed from father to son: the entry into the company of Claudio Gabbai and, 2 years later, of Davide Reis brought renewed vigour to the core business of the company. This was confirmed when Claudio, as a result of his managerial skills and thorough knowledge of the perfumery and cosmetics sector, was chosen by the French chain Marionnaud to develop the strategy for entering the Italian market, which was completed by an impressive investment of over €90 million and the acquisition of over 150 perfumeries.

There can be no growth without a constant strategy of openness and inclusion, and Forma Italiana also knows how to apply these principles to its own structure.
The entry of new shareholders selected from among its most talented managers brought innovation in processes and vision, as well as a further boost to growth.
New projects were initiated, such as the opening of three drugstores (including the Cosmix store which, at 1000 square metres, stands out as the largest retail perfumery in Milan), subsequently all sold to Marionnaud in the perfumery acquisition campaign led by Claudio Gabbai.

From the 2000s on, Forma Italiana has chosen to focus its activities on international trading, where it excels in reliability, speed of action and professionalism, so much so that in a short time it has become one of the benchmark businesses, reaching 13th position out of 445 companies in the sector.