062 WHAT'S THE STORY FAST SHIFTING
Alpha Studio
“We Don’t Want to Lose Sight of Craftsmanship”
Alpha Studio does not only stand for fashionable knitwear and value-for-money, but, above all, also for excellent service. In this interview, Paolo Rossi, the son of the brand’s founder Franco Rossi, talks about how important it is to work in unison with customers and which investment is needed to achieve this. Text: Nicoletta Schaper. Photos: Alpha Studio
Alpha Studio doesn’t seem affected by the general economic crisis. What makes your company so successful?
Maybe we aren’t affected because we have adapted to the new dynamics of the market and offer a high-quality product without increasing the price. Furthermore, we pursue a very customer-oriented strategy which includes excellent general service and warehouse services. We do everything possible to establish direct contact with our customers. What is the specific challenge?
The challenge is to listen to the market needs and to adapt our own organisation accordingly. That’s the only way to minimise the risk of our retail customers and - at the same time - to maximise the sell-out. This is beneficial for both sides.
What kind of investment is necessary to achieve this?
We try to perfect our processes constantly and have, for example, invested in our B2B portal. The portal not only allows the customers to reorder goods, but also to exchange items when necessary. The process is uncomplicated and does not involve the distribution department as an additional intermediary. Similarly, we have established our own logistics hub with partners such as DHL and DPD, which allows us to deliver swiftly. Our delivery service doesn’t merely come round once a day, but twice. It even handles smaller parcels, for instance when a retailer reorders a single size for a customer. Furthermore, we are investing in our process management and 416 style in progress
our own production facilities to ensure that we can react flexibly in that area too.
Is it conducive for this flexibility to be a family-run business?
In terms of finding and implementing creative - even unconventional - solutions, it is certainly beneficial to be a company with a tight, family-like structure. This is a clear competitive advantage over large and more complex production companies. It is, however, equally important to ensure that our employees are well-prepared and competent - both in production and customer service.
craftsmanship. In our case, we are not talking about a mere business, but about a company that knows the soul of its products very well. This is one of the reasons why we are trying to return our own production of parts of our collection to Italy step by step. We want to strengthen and retain our “Made in Italy” DNA.
Which entrepreneurial skills are especially important today?
A modern entrepreneur needs to be a visionary. He needs to be open in terms of customers, competitors, and new technologies. He also needs a sound management education that allows him to guide a company through more turbulent times. In our business, it is equally essential not to lose sight of
Paolo Rossi, the son of Alpha Studio collection founder Franco Rossi, knows that a small company can respond to market dynamics swiftly.
