Forma Italiana: C. Gabbai

INTERVIEW FORMA ITALIANA

INTERVIEW WITH CLAUDIO GABBAI, PRESIDENT & CEO

EXPORT MAGAZINE: At the end of 2022, let’s take stock of the current situation of the markets… CLAUDIO GABBAI: When we go through difficult time, hit by pandemics or wars, we run risks, changes take place. From the change of paradigms, not everyone comes out unharmed, those who were well structured previously can come out of the crisis stronger, whose who showed signs of weakness can run into trouble. Our company, which has been well structured for years, during the pandemic had double-digit growth. The forecast for this year is to reach +15%, with the objective at the end of the year to take the turnover to 34 million, The importance of being well structured depends on the changeability of the market

four Business uniTs and ProgressiVe groWTh

and of the world surrounding it: the certainties on which business was based until two years ago are no longer the same today; there are too many variables of every type and coming from every direction, you only have to think of the trend of currencies, in particular of the US dollar. With the dollar almost equivalent to the euro, the cost of commodities is shooting tot eh stars and this causes great upsets at international level.

EM: What does it mean being entrepreneurs today? CG: It means ‘creating value’ and to do so, I repeat that you have to have an efficient structure, implementing all the sectors to be able to be good partners for industry. The industry essentially has to have ‘good’ production and distribution all the passages necessary to give a complete service, including the logistics which plays an extremely important role. We have just acquired a further warehouse of 5,000 square metres. We are getting stronger to cover every types of small and large distribution, doing meticulous back office work and increasingly refined management control. Every month we close the accounts by division as though we were drawing up the financial statement, depreciation included. We are a healthy company, and we intend to continue being one,which is why, beyond a certain threshold of turnover, let’s say from euro 60 million upwards, we have to consolidate our bases. For this reason some time ago we decided to revolutionize our company organization. By putting the company at the centre and no longer the family, we are sure to do its interests, because the perspective changes completely.

It is obvious that the values on which the concept of family in which we believe very strongly remain unchanged, including with regard to the families of our employees, from the first to the last. We have opened the capital to two young managers, Jacky Blanga and Antonio Biffi, as well as to the financial director, Vittorio Abba; Davide Reis was already a shareholder in the times of my father, Maurizio. In this way. We have assured the future of our company. I am convinced that the motor of the company are young people, who bring innovative concepts: the sixty-year-olds certainly have the culture and the experience in judging what it is better to do or not to do – let’s say that they have already had all the childhood illnesses - however, the potential is in the ability to inject new energy into the various activities.

EM: What are the certainties on which you have always been based? CG: I believe in joint ventures, making commercial agreements both with the industry and with partners, to put the reciprocal competences at disposal of each other. I firmly believe in the contamination of the good who unite their forces (all tennis players know that it is always better to play against an adversary of their own level!) To reach success, there are three words: work, work and work. Because professionalism and competence derive solely from an assiduous and attentive way of working. We occupy an intermediate part of the market, and every day we are integrated upstream and downstream with our partners. It is interesting to ‘divide a piece of bread’ with those who have competences other than our own. Our certainties include not wanting to work with private equity funds, which follow very tight logics of timing, not in tune with our mentality. For us, doing business is not speculating on the moment, but making the company grow from now on for the next 100 years. EM: One of your activities is distribution in the beauty sector. How is it structured? CG: We have created four very separate divisions: perfumery mass market, a new luxury division and the Internet. We are also offering a new service of integrated logistics at the service of small cosmetic companies. With the luxury division, we distribute La Perla Beauty, Lolita Lempicka and Barbour. We also have the worldwide licence for Yuzen, an excellent Japanese brand of skincare that is giving us great satisfaction. Each division is under a manager specialized in that channel: Roberto Maranese, a great expert in the luxury sector, Piero Pelle in mass market. The mass market portfolio is as made up of very interesting and up-to-date brands. Our expert collaborators include Cinzia Langelli and Lara Lorenzini, but the list of those who deserve a mention is very long…there are 70 of them, i.e. the whole team both in Lacchiarella and externally.

EM: You who know the market very well, in your opinion what are the successful channels, referring perhaps to the Italian and European market? CG: If we look at Europe, the selective market is suffering enormously in terms of consumption, so perfumery and luxury retail is undergoing a certain crisis. It is attacked from below by drugstores and health and beauty stores and from above by pharmacies, which have become an interesting channel for everything that is skincare. In pharmacies, cosmetic products have raised the amount on the receipt. The mass market is simpler and more regular; however it is aiming to extend the offer of its portfolio to luxury products.If this gradually occurs it does not mean that the neighbourhood shops, in city centres, will not survive. As always there will be a selection, in favour of the best. We cannot not talk about e-commerce: it continues to reinvent itself and it is a channel to itself, which grew during the pandemic and is stabilizing. In Italy it is worth about 20% of the selective market, deducing that 80% remains in the hands of retail.

EM: Concluding… Forma Italiana is a well-structured company, managed by a ‘man on the ground,’ who knows the rules of the market because he also knows what it means to manage points of sale, and applies them after careful consideration. Correct? CG: Let’s say that the company was founded by my father, and we have managed not to destroy it!