A slap in the face of the crisis. And the demonstration of how a small family business, symbol of the excellence of Italian craftsmanship, continues to survive and conquer the market.
And 'the Thun, a company in South Tyrol that produces high quality ceramics. The property belongs to the homonymous family, while the employees are mostly Chinese. From now on, not only them: customers will also have slanted eyes.
The company has in fact opened i its first two stores in Beijing. A few kilometers from the Chinese capital, in two establishments, the famous little angels of Bolzano are produced by almost 5 employees. And precisely in the Asian country, assures the managing director Paolo Denti, Thun aims to grow further (2011 revenues are up by 9%, and Christmas hasn't arrived yet).
However, the landing in China does not affect growth in Italy and in other markets where the company is already present, assures the manager. On the contrary, the growth objectives are very ambitious. In our country, which makes up 85% of revenues, there are already 1.222 shops, including two flagship stores (Bolzano and Mantua), 305 single-brand stores, 15 owned (destined to become 60 within two years).
The rest are shop in shop. But Thun has already won over Austrian, German, Swiss and Spanish consumers (18 shops). 2010 closed with revenues of 195 million and 5.000 employees (190 in Bolzano and 50 in Mantua). In addition to ceramics, bijoux and accessories for women are growing, which now represent 15% of revenues and are moving towards 20%. The children's line is also good.
