Swedish couple Klas Käll and Barbara Bergman could be very comfortably retired, relaxing with their feet up in Mallorca, but no. The creators of the world-famous brand Rialto Living can be found in their wonderful luxury lifestyle store in calle San Feliu, just off the Borne, five days a week working along side their 50-plus staff and also interacting with and taking personal care of their many international and local clients.
Rialto Living was born in 2007 after the couple took over and renovated what had been the Rialto Cinema, popular for showing original version films.
Then, in 2014, they expanded the store, which is located in a 15th century palace, and today Rialto Living is not only a Mecca for people in search of unique luxury fashion, furniture, art and gifts, but the café is also a very popular meeting point.
On top of this, Rialto Living is much more than a store. They also provide a personal interior design service which has recently expanded into the corporate world after they were finally persuaded to design and furnish the interior of Sir Richard Branson’s new luxury Son Bunyola Hotel in Banyalbufar.
London, the Alps, Sweden
The couple and their design team have previously worked on a number of interior design projects in some of Mallorca’s most emblematic private properties, not to mention a few in London and the Alps, but never hotels. And as Sir Richard revealed and Klas and Barbara admit, they initially turned the project down when first approached by Sir Richard.
“The Branson project was probably the most famous and certainly the biggest so far. All the others have been private homes and to be honest when they first came and said the project was ours, we said no. I guess they had been around, but Branson’s right hand Rob walked in here and decided what he saw was what he wanted.
“But at first we said no because we thought it was going to be too big for us, very corporate. They were going to want spreadsheets all the time and so much red tape making it very difficult. But they convinced us, they said they would help us with everything and they proved to be an amazing team to work with and we’re very happy with the outcome of the project and they are too.
“The architects did a super job. It’s not just the decoration, it was team work and they’re Mallorcan, so it was a real local affair. It was the architects GRAS Reynés Architecture Studio who told Branson that the interior design and decoration could be taken care of locally instead of having to import everything from overseas, so it all worked out very well in the end,” Klas and Barbara said, while admitting that when they first opened the store, they never thought they would be designing and decorating the interior of a Branson hotel.
“We have no limits. I was not afraid, we have a fantastic team and the staff are great, so we eventually decided why not,” Klas added.
“And as a result of Son Bunyola, we’re continuing to work and do things for them. The villas and the Son Valenti hotel, which is opening in 2026, so we continue working with them along with many other clients,” they said.
Klas and Barbara's love affair with Mallorca goes back well over 30 years. Klas first came across the Balearics with a group of friends on a holiday to Formentera. One had a property in Mallorca, which Klas eventually visited and then decided to buy an apartment in Plaza Cort. Then, with Barbara, they began coming to the island on holiday.
Summer place
“We eventually bought a summer house here. We’ve been here for 36 years, so it was our summer place and, with time, we started to come more often, And it became quite clear that at some point we wanted to live here permanently, but we didn’t want to retire and just sit in the sun. We wanted something to do - we were too young to retire, we still are, so we opened Rialto Living,” Klas and Barbara explained.
And in a way, the Rialto concept made sense. Barbara is a graphic designer and Klas a fashion designer. He and two business colleagues bought the European and then the global rights for the American clothing brand Gant and made Gant the international success it is today.
So all that joint experience was invested into Rialto Living.
“The secret to our success? There are no secrets,” Klas said. “It’s no secret, but I think that when we opened this, of course we put ourselves on the map and people came, saw it and returned, some asking for some help, so the store attracted a lot of attention,” Klas said.
“I think when we opened Rialto, even with the smaller store, it was a relatively big commercial property for Palma. I think we were ahead of our time for the city and when we opened the rest of the store, it was a concept that not only didn’t exist in Palma but was quite new globally - to have a café, fashion and decorations all under one roof. Obviously there are now other brands, but we were the first in Palma,” Barbara added.
Unique
“Plus I think we still have a different approach when we decide on what we stock. We’re not driven by market forces, we’re not looking for items which are going to sell fast. When we go to the international trade fairs and the high-end luxury markets, we’re looking for things we like and what we want,” Klas explained.
“What is also unique is that we do all the buying. Obviously we have a team who come with us, but we take care of the buying and that’s important because it’s a reflection of our style.
“Yes, we’re commercial but that’s not our driving force. Our drive is that we want to do something excellent, something nice, something which we stand for as a brand. It’s very personal, it’s what we like.
“If we don’t like it, we don’t buy it, however well we may be told it’s going to sell. We would never buy something ugly simply because it would sell. We’re driven by doing something which we can be proud of and stand for,” Barbara stressed.
Plus the interior design market has changed.
“I think when we first opened, the demand was more casual,” Klas said.
“Now I feel it’s getting a little more formal. We like to do every interior design project very individually, work with the owners and listen to what they have to say and their ideas,” Barbara added.
“Obviously some projects are smaller or more complex than others and we have longstanding clients who may have bought a chalet in the Alps or a property in London or Sweden, for example, who come back and ask us to take care of the interior design. So if someone who we’ve worked with before comes to us to work overseas, we will travel with them and help them on their journey.
“Nevertheless, our primary aim is to bring people here, we want people to come to Palma because there is only one Rialto Living,” they said.
Despite the huge success Rialto Living enjoys in Mallorca and now around the world, there are no plans for expansion.
“No, this is it. We did a little expansion to Ibiza, in a really nice hotel on the island, but that was just before Covid and then the pandemic hit. When we came out of it, we decided not to continue. We had a lot of work anyway and we wanted to do the best we could, and can, for Rialto in Palma,” they said.
Hands on
“And we like to be very much hands on. We used to be here all of the opening days but now we don’t come on Saturdays, we need a weekend off. But it’s Monday to Friday and it’s a lifestyle, even for us. We love what we do and we also want to maintain standards and the levels of quality. We’ve obviously learnt the language and that is very important for anyone thinking about setting up a business in Mallorca in addition to doing the homework before coming. Find out what you can and can’t do, stick to the rules and, of course, integrate.
“For example, when we moved into this street, it was deserted. It was full of garbage and rundown buildings. But look at it now. It’s full of galleries, luxury clothing outlets and the hotel. When we first saw the street, even though it was dirty and all that, the location was perfect, right off the Borne - so it had to be good,” said Klas.
“But it was the climate which first brought us here. However, then you meet new people, make new friends and, in our case, set up a new business and everything. And as the island is now so well connected, it’s so easy to get pretty much anywhere. After all the time and effort we’ve put into restoring this lovely building we hope that it will still be standing in many years to come,” Barbara said.
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If architecs wanted the job dome locally why to choose two swedes?
Oh great, we haven't had a 'sir' richard (tax dodger) branson story for at least a week.