THEItalian industry, wrote Giuseppe Berta, today she is called to "dance to the music played by others". That is, "it can only offer segments of its own products under the conditions established by the subjects who hold the keys to the final market". In short, in order to thrive (or even just resist) it is "extreme flexibility and organizational skills are required. We'll make it? I don't know". Words that are well suited to the reality of the eyewear industry, an excellence of Made in Italy, thanks to Luxottica but also to a myriad of artisans/industrialists from the North-East.
Here too the year that has ended has brought great news: the merger Essilor-Luxottica which left many questions open on the subject of governance between Leonardo Del Vecchio and the French shareholders in view of the showdown in April; the lunge of lvmh which started a joint venture with Marcolin, named Thelios, in which it is preparing to concentrate the initiatives in the sector of all its brands, starting with Dior, with serious damage to sapphire, who, to remedy the divorce with Dior, is undergoing a drastic slimming cure, marked by the 700 job cuts between Martignacco (Udine) and Longarone. In short, the structural weakness of Italian capitalism is also felt in one of the sectors in which it is apparently strongest.
But there is no need to bandage your head, a case history teaches us that demonstrates how the Bel Paese is not devoted to surrender. Thanks to a tricolor private equity, Ethics Global Investments, promoted by a pool of entrepreneurs, around thirty, who have joined forces to enhance Italian manufacturing excellence, those that often cover the production of components that no one else knows how to do better than us. “We are a somewhat particular private equity firm – explains the managing director Ruggero Jenna – We are interested in profit, of course. And it is possible that sooner or later we will sell some subsidiaries. But we are interested in a long-term industrial discourse”, in various sectors: from the automotive sector (73% of Osar of Robassomero), to the sanitary sector (Gia of Trecate). But the most ambitious enterprise, at least for now, concerns eyewear components.
Ethica Global Investments has acquired, through a capital increase, approximately 40% of Elledue, holding company of Ideal (already under arrangement, about a hundred employees in Quero in the Belluno area), active in the engineering and production of small metal components for eyewear, and Biemme (60 employees in Valdobbiadene), leader in surface finishing, galvanic and varnishing for eyewear. The operation was carried out through a dedicated capital increase, aimed at strengthening capital, as well as supporting the relaunch and growth of the two operating companies. The other shareholders of Elledue are Giuliano Casanova, previous owner of Biemme with 20%, and a group of private investors who hold the remaining 40%. In 2019, the new Group will express a consolidated turnover of around 14 million euros and has important internal and external growth objectives for the future. In fact, the program expects to grow to a turnover of 30 million in a couple of years, thus becoming one of the leading suppliers of quality eyewear.
"The world of eyewear – continues Jenna – is polarizing: on the one hand, products under 100 euros, mostly Chinese, which cannot afford quality components. On the other hand, eyewear from 150 euros upwards is increasingly under the control of the big names in luxury, such as Kering or Vuitton who are regaining control of production without owning a single factory but by distributing orders among the various companies”. In short, here too Made in Italy now operates within multinational structures.
It's not a drama because "working for others, especially international groups, can be a great deal," explains Jenna. And so “in the face of the important changes in the eyewear sector, with the brands directly managing their productions, we have decided to invest in an integrated supply chain in order to ensure customers growing levels of quality, service and design. In addition to the most important asset: the reliability of the service in a fashion-related sector where delivery times are crucial”. This too makes the company of the Italian private sector, which includes Francesco Sala and Nicola De Biase, among others, credible: to become a leader in luxury without delocalising.
