BIOGRAPHY

While still studying architecture, in 1998, Pedro Franco had his first contact with furniture design. Its first piece, the Orbital Armchair, was developed with tire inner tubes. The unusual piece of furniture was awarded at Brasil Faz Design, taking Franco to participate in the Manisfestazione Fuori Saloni exhibition in Milan. Since then, the designer's irreverence has yielded good results.

In 2006, Franco opened his own store, A Lot Of Brazil. "I was looking for a more democratic design, with a better price for the consumer," recalls the designer, explaining that he invested around R$ 1.5 million to open the company in the Pinheiros region, in the city of São Paulo.

With the development of new materials, Franco's proposal is to increasingly industrialize his production process. In this way, he intends to maintain the quality of his creations and, at the same time, make them accessible to a greater number of consumers.

Franco was also responsible for bringing international furniture brands to Brazil, such as Futura, Fasem and Skitsch. "That was the way I found to meet all the costs of the business and get the profit I needed," says Franco.

Currently, A Lot Of Brasil has 80 products in its catalog and sells about 280 pieces per month, in its own store and 52 resellers throughout the country. The company's annual revenue is around R$ 7 million, with a growth of 20% per year. Franco also works with the licensing of the brand, taking his signature to pieces from partner companies.

In the next two years, Franco expects to reach 200 items in the catalog to structure his franchise system. "With a greater variety of products, I get more representation in the market to expand", projects the designer.

PT Construction, 2011