Immediately after the Second World War, a large factory of Christmas products took birth in the area of Como, in the Northern part of Italy: La Florida.
Sometimes the history of a family is intertwined with that of a company, and so this is also what happened with the Ranieri family.
In the early 1950’s Dino Ranieri left the Army and traveled to the North of Italy 
in search of work, which he finds with the La Florida company. Within a few years, he advanced taking on the role of head of production. During this time, he met Bice, part of Florida’s commercial team. Soon after, in 1959, they were married.
When the original Florida owner decided to close, he gave some of the equipment to the Ranieri family in appreciation for their collaboration and loyalty. Soon after this gift, a new enterprise commenced when Bice began producing Christmas huts and decoration and Dino designed new models of Christmas trees introducing innovative materials such as goose down and viscose. The new enterprise FLORA ARTIFICIALE (the latter meaning artificial) was born. This is the name which has accompanied the story of the family and the enterprise for decades. The company has now become one of the main and most respected [or: highly appreciated] producers of Christmas items not only in Italy but throughout Europe.
And so, the adventure began.
In just a few years, with much sacrifice, commitment, courage and great determination Flora Artificiale had become one of the most important companies in the sector. In 1963 Flora Artificiale participated in the first International Toy Fair, currently named Festivity. Later, in 2006, the heir and current owner of the company, Gianfranco, was appointed President of the exhibition. In 1964, the company moved to a larger facility on the outskirts of Como and grew to over 30 employees who produced Christmas items year-round. In these years Flora trees were well known for their quality and highly sought after, exported even as far as Australia and Tahiti!
Growth of the company continued and at the end of the 70’s the Ranieri determined they needed a larger headquarters and bought a property in Senna Comasco, also in Como area. On the new property they built a 3,000 square meter facility and, at that time they could employ over 60 people. This is where the current headquarters is still located.
During this time, Bice and Gino’s son, Gianfranco, joined the company. It began a new era in which increased the widespread presence on the market of products arriving from Taiwan and Korea. For this reason, Gianfranco traveled to the Far East in order to understand and explore that marketplace and world.
The first business relationships were established with producers from the Far East and Flora began importing and including these goods in their collections. Only a few years following this time, it became increasingly difficult for Italian firms to compete with production from the Far East.
In 1989 Mrs. Bice, the founder, in charge also of the creative and of the finance areas within Flora Artificiale, passed away and the reins of leadership passed on to her son, Gianfranco.
At this time, he started Flora Ltd.
Father and son together decided to focus on importing tailor-made refined collections. In 1998 Flora stopped all in-house production. In the meantime, in China, through a budding friendship and collaborative effort Gianfranco began a partnership with Kelvin Chick, a young, experienced manager from Hong Kong eager to grow in the business. With Gianfranco’s support, Kelvin opened his own firm. Through this collaboration, they expanded production space and new collections every two years. As of today, Kelvin has a spacious showroom in Hong Kong and two factories in China that covers over 26,000 square meters and employs over 400 workers, always with a focus on quality and design.
Thanks to this partnership, Flora is currently able to offer a wide range of Christmas trees up to six meters in height with a variety of colors, models and materials alongside the DECO line. DECO is a recently introduced groundbreaking range of products that stands out as per accurate design, colors and Italian style.
With this collaboration, Flora always remains the first operational and commercial partner. Its production of trees and decoration are exported globally and they are also requested by traders in Hong Kong proving that Kelvin Chick’s companies are highly valued for their quality, reliability and style. This is a great source of satisfaction.
A few years ago, Flora Shop opened as an outlet, near the company headquarters. It is led by Simone, part of the third generation. He develops the activity integrating collections for parties, gift items, and decoration in addition to an impressive portfolio of trees dedicated to Christmas festivities.
The Ranieri family and Flora have walked a long path since the beginning days in the garage. The journey continues to unfold through dedication, creativity and the strong will of a whole family while guaranteeing quality, service and innovation.
This is the path that will continue to guarantee success for the Flora brand.
