Giorgio Busnelli is on a whirlwind trip through this part of the world, and it's a mixed bag that the chairman of B&B Italia is bringing back with him to Italy after three intense weeks on the road. On the one hand, things are still looking pretty decent in China, Singapore and Taiwan - Asian markets that Mr Busnelli is 'moderately optimistic' about. In fact, China and Singapore are the luxury Italian furniture maker's best performers in the region.  

But then, he's getting serious grief over Dubai, where grave problems are mounting. The Middle Eastern city is now suffering badly from the financial crisis and consequent collapse of its building boom (some say bubble).

And the effects are being felt at B&B Italia, which has a major project now in limbo. As for Japan, Mr Busnelli gave it a miss on this trip as turnover there had already dropped over 50 per cent since 2007, making the market 'no longer so important for us'.

What is clearly making him hot under the collar is the fact that there are just too many nasty surprises popping up on a regular basis from the financial industry. 'Everybody lost money on the stock market, but people still have money, just less than before. They still can change cars, yachts, buy watches and Hermes for their wives,' he says, bristling.

'But if we don't stop coming out with bad news, the (buying) mood is not going to come back. Tell us once and for all how much money the world has to put into these banks where nobody knows what they have done. Maybe they are clearing their balance sheets for the last 30 years, but just clear them out once and for all.'

For all the bad press that luxury is now getting, B&B Italia isn't doing too badly - so far. For the first two months of 2009, sales dropped just 10 per cent - an admirable figure especially considering that 2008 was a very strong year.

But since furniture purchases typically require a lead time of some three months, the effects of the global recession might only be seen later.

'When (US investment bank) Lehman Brothers collapsed in September, we had a 50 per cent drop in traffic at our New York stores, which soon spread to all our US stores,' he reveals. 'So we are hoping for a 10 per cent to 15 per cent year-on-year drop in group revenue for 2009, but we are prepared for worse.'

This is on the back of two solid years of growth. Sales in 2008 hit 217 million euros (S$424 million), which was 17 per cent up from the 185 million euros the year before. And even the 2007 revenue was itself some 21 per cent higher than the 153 million euros reached in 2006. Europe is the brand's biggest market.

Founded in 1966 by his father, Piero Ambrogio Busnelli, B&B Italia is privately held and majority-owned by Opera, a private equity firm that includes investors like Italian jeweller Bulgari. The furniture maker had been wanting to get listed on Milan's bourse, but that hasn't happened thanks to the sinking stock markets - and isn't likely to happen anytime soon either.

But like every good and nimble company, B&B Italia isn't just fretting and hoping for the best - it is being more strategic than ever. For one, it's continuing to invest in research and development and planning its vital communications budget more carefully - based on three-month blocks depending on whether targets are met - as opposed to six-month ones before.

And yes, even luxury brands are cost-cutting and B&B Italia is no different. 'When the company is doing well as we have been in the last two years, we don't pay attention to the expenses, such as travelling and the many little things that when put together, come up to quite a lot. So now, we're going on a diet.'

This means, for instance, that senior management, including Mr Busnelli, have to plan a packed itinerary such that there is no wastage, fly on cheaper airlines and stay at less expensive hotels. In a similar vein, B&B Italia decided not to participate in some fairs, such as January's IMM fair in Cologne. How about store closures and staff cuts? 'Not yet, but we are prepared for the worst.'

Most of all, from the product side, B&B Italia is zooming in on the areas it has yet to cover completely or been able to produce bestsellers. 'We're not presenting as many products as we used to, but looking at what we have to offer, where we are positioned well, where we are not, and comparing ourselves to benchmarks in the market.