Pushing the boundaries of design

People often have the misconception that your future is taken care of since you work in the family business. Was that the case for you?

In the past it was expected from every male member of the family to join the company but now it is up to us to decide if we want to.
Since we are a big Italian family we had to define clear rules. We had to outline those rules in order to make sure that the members of the family really wanted to be part of the company and they were committed.
I had to pass three tests before I was allowed to work for the family firm.

1. Rule one: get a master's degree

2. Rule two: learn a second language

3.  Rule three: work for another company for two years. To be honest, rule three boosted my confidence because I knew that if I did well and I progressed inside the company it was not because of my surname.

How have you adapted to the digital era?

Product wise we don’t need to change our approach. What we do is taking into consideration new technologies when we develop new products. Smart objects will definitely be part of our catalog in the future. However, we always highlight that the focus of our business is the design element.

The digital revolution for me is a tool that is helping us to improve the go-to-market strategy and also facilitates the communication with our customers. Consumers expect the interaction.

It is not that different from 30 years ago when the shop owner would know exactly his customer needs, what he likes, his personal style etc.
With digitalization, it is the same thing, on a bigger scale. We need to be able to adapt and evolve. We know it is not going to be easy but is a huge opportunity for us because we are a company that sells value. And we can use these new channels in order to transfer this value to our consumer.

What are your thoughts about today's luxury consumer?

Things are changing but the core elements remain the same. Consumers are still looking for value, heritage and consistency.

Consumers are still looking for value, heritage and consistency.

They care about the brand but most importantly they care about the product and its quality.
What has changed is the way they interact with the brands. Nowadays they want to influence the business decision when it comes to the product development. They want personalized products and they want to be part of the process.

Do you listen to your consumer? Do you take into consideration their comments?

On one hand, when it comes to the communication and marketing strategies I think, we should listen more. We are still in the learning process and we are trying to find the best way to do so.
On the other hand, consumers don’t really know what they want in terms of product. We are trying to interpret the needs and the dreams of the consumer’s through the mind of the designers.

 

We are trying to interpret the needs and the dreams of the consumer’s through the mind of the designers.

I will quote Henry Ford when he said, “If I had asked my customers what they wanted they would have said a faster horse” that’s why we don’t do market research before launching a product. It is risky I know, sometimes we get it wrong but that strategy fits very well with the fact that we are a family business. Because of this approach, we take risks, we learn, and we push the boundaries of design.

Innovation and design are not always rooted in practicality. What do you think?

I know that is why we put a lot of effort into evaluating the functionality of our products. We have four parameters for rating all our products. The first is the price, the second is the communication and language, the third is sensoriality, sentiment, imagination, and the fourth is functionality and they all have the same weight.