Great Story about Vista Alegre's USA debut, thank you HFN!
By Allison Zisko
Vista Alegre USA makes its debut here at the Tabletop Show this month, bringing its business physically closer to its customers along with a promise of superior customer service through a new Quick Ship program.
In its new showroom at Forty One Madison the company also will introduce several collections in both porcelain and crystal in collaboration with several artists and designers, including Christian Lacroix Maison, its first partnership with a fashion brand, and designer Karim Rashid. Such collaborations are part of the 200-year-old Portuguese company’s embrace of artistic passion and craftsmanship, said Daniel Da Silva, the new president of the company’s American division. “What sets us apart is our passion and our legacy,” Da Silva said.
Vista Alegre has long been available from distributors in the United States, but Da Silva said it decided to establish a home base here in order to respond more quickly and easily to customer requests. It has partnered with a third-party warehouse in New Jersey and established its Quick Ship program, a group of approximately 600 SKUs that will be available to ship within the United States within one week. Items in the Quick Ship program will include the newest collections and the most popular items, but will evolve constantly based on customer demand, Da Silva said. Any requests for product outside of the Quick Ship program can be filled in four to six weeks.
At the Tabletop Show Vista Alegre will introduce a broad range of products, all made in Portugal, that fall into one of three main style groups—classic, contemporary and neo-traditional. Da Silva promises “something for everyone” as well as a wide range of price points. Key collections include Transatlantica, a blue-and-white dinnerware collection which calls to mind tilework; Versailles, a white, black and gold pattern by artist Joana Vasconcelos that calls to mind the interior of Versailles; Karim Rashid crystal giftware pieces; and the Christian Lacroix Maison collection, a double-backstamped line of porcelain dinnerware, serveware and giftware spanning four different patterns and touching on motifs such as butterflies and geometric designs and offering tribute to the heritage of the two brands.