Selling in the USA to grow: four reasons
For years I sold in the United States, first kitchens and bathrooms, then the method. Every time I come back from Miami or New York people ask me the same thing: is it worth it? Four reasons to say yes, and the last depends on you alone.
- The economy. The world's largest market and the most receptive to Italian products, even with 15% tariffs since 2025.
- Sentiment. Americans love Italy; Bello Ben Fatto is always seen as a prestige object worth importing.
- Spending power. From where I sit, at least twice that of a European. And they pay in advance, by card.
- The entrepreneur. Well turned out, with good English, able to talk about anything: he is the image of the company.
- The advantage not to waste: trust. Those who present themselves well receive it before they have even delivered.
1. The economy
The United States remains the world's largest economy and the most receptive to Italian products. The 15% tariffs on almost all European goods, in force since August 2025, have taken their toll: Confindustria estimates €16.5 billion less in exports over the medium term. But for a high-end product 15% is a fraction of the multiplier. Those who sell a brand absorb the tariff in the margin, while those who sell at a low price feel all of it: that's one of the reasons you need margin.
2. Sentiment
Americans love Italy, its places, its culture and Made in Italy products. Italian products in the BBF category, Bello Ben Fatto (beautiful and well made), are seen as prestige objects worth importing, and that hasn't changed with governments or tariffs. The challenge for us entrepreneurs is to build or reposition the brand so that it holds those values: specific places such as Milan, Tuscany and Venice, which are brands in themselves, and a payoff in English that people understand. Acqua Panna sells water at ten dollars with a label: 1564, the lily, “Toscana – Italia”. Alfa Romeo wrote “La meccanica delle emozioni” on a mural in Los Angeles, in Italian, and nobody understood it.
3. Spending power
According to official data, American spending power is about 40% higher than European. From where I sit I'd say at least double. But the figure matters less than the behaviour: Americans pay by card, in advance, before they've seen the product. We received a $20,000 deposit for a kitchen designed online, delivery in six months. They do it because the card insures them and they collect American Express points, which they then convert into business-class flights. “I have to buy the kitchen anyway, I swipe the card and get the points.” In our company we say American Express customers are the best customers.
And there's the tax system, which trusts people. The United States has no tax code like ours: Americans invoice, deduct, and if they're caught driving a Porsche while declaring five thousand dollars a year, they go to prison. A system that trusts people gets them used to trusting companies too.
4. The entrepreneur
Last, and by no means least. The entrepreneur who crosses the Atlantic to sell has to be culturally prepared. American counterparts, on the sidelines of meetings, ask you about Italian politics, the euro, what's happening in Europe. You have to be the image of your company: well groomed, well dressed, with good English, able to hold a high-level conversation beyond the product presentation. An ambassador for Made in Italy. Marchionne, Montezemolo, Elkann, each in his own style, did it for Italian industry; the owner of an SME does it for his company, on a small scale, every time he shakes a hand.
Trust, which must not be wasted
What I've learnt in twenty years of travelling is that abroad, trust in a company that presents itself well is taken for granted. If you show up with the brand, the photos, the videos, the testimonials, the website with a single price, they assume you'll deliver in six months. It's a huge advantage, and it can be squandered in a moment: by a fitter who breaks four crates, by a late delivery, by a one-star review. You can sell in the USA to grow. Provided you get there with the brand already built, and defend it afterwards.
From my book Direct from Milano and my classroom courses. Figures and examples updated to September 2026.
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