Fedua

A LIFESTYLE BRAND

INTERvIEW WITh LuCA GONZINI, CEO LG DISTRIBUTION AND FEDUA BRAND WORLDWIDE

EXPORT MAGAZINE: FEDuA is a young company that in only a few years has won a noteworthy space on the nails market. Can we say that you are one of the first brands to have acted in a ‘disruptive’ way? LuCA GONZINI: We entered a mature market with a different idea on communication and outside the normal strategies. Thanks to an idea of packaging, which turned out to have great visibility and impact, we have been able to tell a true story that people immediately perceived and appreciated, making us easily recognizable. I have been and I still am very proud to know that an idea which was simple in itself like a paint pot, net of the complications of making it, would then be taken as an example of successful product design in various schools of design and communication in Italy and abroad, from Barcelona to Paris and even in Buenos Aires. Without me ever knowing. This was the basic idea we started out from, but it was not to be taken for granted that it would be understood. And to think that I have a degree in economics…

EM: As well as having chosen unusual packaging, you opted for multichannel distribution right from the very start. Has this decision been the right one? LG: Absolutely. Nail varnish and hand and foot care products is not something that is “niche” but is part of the daily routine of every woman and, increasingly, of every man. Extending the offer moving away from “old style” concepts that work for other product categories was definitely a farsighted decision, considering then the advent of the pandemic which radically changed the way of purchasing for the majority of consumers.

EM: What is your price positioning compared to other brands of nail products? LG: Our positioning is in line that our multinational competition. The high quality and visibility have allowed us to develop markets with prices in line with the most prestigious brands in the world.

EM: Have you extended your product portfolio? LG: Obviously we have expanded the colour range both for the more traditional and the professional nail varnishes and we have invested heavily in the skincare category for hand and foot care, a sector that is not very developed in detail of the specific requirements by our competitors. Our Jelly Golden Mask is now a musthave an international level.

LUCA GONZINI HAS PROVEN IN ONLY A FEW YEARS THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO ENTER A MATURE MARKET LIKE THAT OF NAILS AND BRING A REVOLUTIONARY IDEA, STARTING FROM THE PACKAGING AND CONTINUING WITH THE PRODUCT, DISTRIBUTION AND COMMUNICATION

EM: You have grown rather rapidly; has this made you make corporate choices to be able to develop the Italian and the international market as best as possible? LG: Absolutely. Now that the storm of the pandemic has passed, a period which we used to correct some internal and product situations, I began to look for investors to accelerate the development of Fedua. By doing so, as well as opening the Australian market and shortly the Indian one and the Balkans, we are doing an operation which will let us expand the American market in grand style within the next six months with a very important project.

EM: Eco-sustainability and the respect for the planet are issues that are increasingly recurrent at industrial level as well. Have you undertaken any initiatives at the level of the selection of raw materials and to reduce the environmental impact? LG: We have tried to use raw materials that are less and less polluting at the environmental level and that guarantee performances at least equal to the previous products. Unfortunately, there are major studies that indicate that the average consumer of beauty products is still more attached to the culture of the price rather than to the environment. They are, on the other hand, more linked to health and personal safety dynamics. I think it will still take a few years and above all legislation which will impose limit at international level, as well as stricter controls on cheap imported products.

Claudia Stagno

PhARMACOS

ABILITY AND INNOvATION DRIvEN BY PASSION

INTERvIEW WITh VINCENZO MISITANO, PhARMACOS CEO

EXPORT MAGAZINE: Pharmacos is an important manufacturing company in the contracting sector. How has the company evolved over the years? VINCENZO MISITANO: Pharmacos was founded in 2004. In February 2020 I joined the company and in November 2021 I decided to dedicate myself wholly to this company, becoming the majority shareholder. The aim of this operation was to outline an important path of growth for a company that in recent years had already shown strong potential based above all on its capacity to produce products of quality, anticipating market trends. This potential, however, needed to be implemented in all its aspects, especially with regard to installation, management and manufacturing, with the inclusion of executives and the internalization of the whole production process.

EM: What is your programme of development based on? VM: Before answering this question, I would like to briefly summarize my personal path. For over forty years I worked for the main manufacturing company in the sector, at first in the R&D department and then reaching positions of technical management and operations and plant manager. These roles have allowed me to acquire detailed knowledge of all the aspects that form the complex of a cosmetics company, from raw materials to the processes of transformation and product industrialization, as well as all the issues that may arise within a company and above all the solutions to be provided to an international clientele. As a result, my professional path has allowed me to organize as best as possible the Pharmacos entrepreneurial path of growth, which is mainly focused on two fundamental aspects, i.e. people and the products. The arrival of new figures with significant experience in the sector has made it possible to create a highly professional managerial structure capable of supporting the different corporate functions, thus allowing a leaner management of the whole company and at the same time greater interaction between the departments. Furthermore, the renewal of the laboratories as well as the setting up of new areas and the acquisition of new machinery were indispensable investments to reorganize the company and make it autonomous on the production level, internalizing the production of the complete product range.

EM: Your background is therefore of great help… VM: Of course, we could not have organized in only four months the new direction that we wanted to give to Pharmacos. To do so, first of all we had to boost our team, adding to the already valid elements in the company new human resources for each sector. The intention, from the very beginning, was to recruit the new figures based on the role that they would have covered in the organization: operations, the supply chain, quality assurance, the information system and any other position necessary so that a company can structure its growth. All the functions, from marketing to administration and commercial, the latter dedicated both to the Italian market and to export, are managed by strongly motivated professionals capable of supporting the growth not only of the company but also of the young resources on which the company Pharmacos has decided to focus on. As a matter of fact, our strategy lies in the creation of a varied team made up of a mixture of new talents supported by senior figures to provide an expertise in tune with the current needs.

EM: What are the instruments you use to promote your growth? VM: We operate with the mentality of a medium-large company that is equipping itself with the most suitable instruments to grow, although still being a small

company. We focus on service and on speed to make flexibility one of our strong points; our timing is greater than the average, and this has allowed us to introduce the concept of ‘infinite capacity’, which indicates our ability to be flexible and produce from a small to large amount in a short time. We succeed in respecting and shortening the delivery times because we have opted for procurement by stock and no longer by commitment. It is certainly a strong investment which, however, allows us to practically never be without the materials for production, starting from raw materials, whose shortage, in particular in recent months, has created serious problems in our sector. We have also established a department dedicated to packaging, aimed at offering a wide variety of solutions. Besides focusing on market studies, our packaging department takes into account current requirements, in order to offer products of quality accompanied by a packaging able to satisfy the needs of the client while being perfectly suitable for the characteristics of the formulations to enhance their performance.

EM: How important is it to bring innovation today? VM: It is indispensable. We formulate and make innovative products by developing unique formulations. To obtain performing products, we have to use raw materials of very high quality and exclusive technologies, alongside in-depth technical and managerial competence. We have equipped our departments to provide clients, even the most demanding ones, with products that meet the requested standards. EM: If you were to define you ‘savoir faire’, what where would you start from? VM: As I have already said in part, our skills go from trend research carried out by the marketing to the study of new formulations by the R&D department; this allows us to create consumer-oriented products ready to be put on the market. We also propose a range of ready-to-go products that covers four areas: bulk products, semi-finished goods, assembled and turnkey. Why choose Pharmacos? Our formulations, textures and colours are unique and special, the result of our experience. We can create innovative products, with an enviable price/quality ratio. We try to win; however we do not always succeed, in this case we have the humility to ask the client for the reason. In order to be able to improve, and raise the so-called bar.

EM: Do you take part in international trade shows, now that these events are being held in person again? VM: We strongly believe in trade fairs, and we were affected during the pandemic by the slowdown in personal meetings, even though we were equipped to approach the market differently. 2022 will be a year where we will be present at the main trade fairs, with great expectations in regard to Cosmopack, which represents a unique occasion to meet ‘the world’, our world. We will continue throughout the year with various shows in Europe and outside Europe.

BELLAGIO

A NEW FRAGRANCE FROM DIAMOND INTERNATIONAL

Diamond International – a dynamic company based in Milan and belonging to the Sodico Group – has been able to interpret in a unique and intense fragrance for women - “Bellagio Eau de Parfum” – Italian production understood as synonymous with responsibility and value, excellence and creativity. Diamond Int. drawing on its role as a top player in the masstige market, thanks to important partnerships in the world of fashion, lifestyle and sport, has created a fragrance where the past and the future meet on its refined notes of great appeal. Body Cream, a lightweight and soft texture that leaves skin moisturized and pleasantly seductive. Diamond International is synonymous with excellence, experimentation in creating exclusive fragrances, highly advanced formulas and innovative packaging, to satisfy the pleasure of the senses of whoever wears them and of the brands that want to be represented by a unique emotional experience of the fragrance that excites and of precious essences that evoke unequalled atmospheres and worlds.

The licence projects –the result of close collaboration between an excellent team of marketing, R&D and the Sales area, have as their objective to offer a product of high quality, created with excellent and innovative formulations, with attention paid to every detail: from the fragrance to the packaging and the texture, the values and the style of the brand relive in the products. The brands under licence are Ducati – 1926, Ice and Sport – Fiat 500, Jeep, Romeo Gigli, Gattinoni and Henry Cotton’s.

A contemporary interpretation of a timeless Italian place

There is a place at the bottom of the soul where sooner or later we all return to: it has the reflections of light of an iconic spot, with a comfortable name, as soft as a light breeze on summer evenings, like the scent of the green gardens of marvellous villas. It has the name of Bellagio, a precious pearl, lying on “that arm of Lake Como”, the timeless incipit of The Betrothed, the unique setting of a new dolce vita, in the shadow of the majestic Alpine peaks. Bellagio Eau de Parfum starts from the same incipit, from that arm of Lake Como which turns off to the south: a cocktail of worldly notes which blends the flavour of strawberry and raspberry, intense and bold, with the freshness of mandarin, as lively and intense as the glittering lights on the ripples of the lake. The sweet floral and elegant heart notes embrace and warm the timeless base notes of patchouli and musk, classic, refined and ambitious like the woman who chooses Bellagio, a unique and timeless fragrance. The very sophisticated bottle evokes the harmony of the buildings reflected on the lake’s surface, brightened by the frivolous tassel which tickles with a hint of guile, the soft pink hue of the perfume. We find this colour again in the Bellagio