The first UniCredit Business Center in Italy, dedicated exclusively to small businesses, was inaugurated yesterday in Milan. As part of the new structure of the Bank's national commercial network presented last March, there will be a total of 140 Business Centers in Italy.
The UniCredit Business Center located in via Verdi in Milan is, in our country, the first space to have a concept strongly based on innovation, with technological multimedia equipment (e.g. digital signage) and a customer manager dedicated to welcoming customers and to support them in using the services in the self-service area. What characterizes and makes this center unique is the presence of spaces entirely reserved for customers: consulting rooms where you can meet with your manager, a lounge area for meetings with customers and suppliers, relaxation areas where you can enjoy a coffee and navigate on Wi-Fi; a smart space to carry out operations comfortably and quickly in complete autonomy and one reserved for events dedicated to companies (both those promoted by the bank and the "promotional" ones of the client companies themselves).
"Small businesses represent 95% of the entire Italian entrepreneurial fabric, generate 40% of added value and employ 80% of employees - said Gianni Franco Papa, General Manager of UniCredit - Our Group serves over 650 small companies in Italy, employing around 18 billion in short and medium/long-term credit on their behalf. Precisely in awareness of the key role that small businesses have for the Italian economy, we have decided to dedicate a specially designed network of Business Centers to them”.
“The innovative branch in via Verdi – added Andrea Casini, co-Head of UniCredit's Italian activities – is made up of a team of 14 consultants, 3 of whom are senior, 2 dedicated to new business development and manage over 1.600 customers with 153 million deposits and 125 million loans. Our Business Centers represent a great break with the past, as they centralize skills and knowledge totally at the service of the needs of small business customers".
The new UniCredit Business Center in Milan is part of the reorganization of the Italian commercial network organized according to a model that guarantees a better ability to respond to customer needs through a logic of specialization of the customer segments, Retail and Corporate, with the Regional Managers who collaborate with the Retail Managers and Corporate Managers of each region. The new Retail organizational model, dedicated to individuals and small businesses, reinforces the centrality of the Branch and the role of the Director. With this reorganisation, the seven Retail Managers lead 140 commercial areas which, in turn, coordinate the work of the branches (there will be 2.400 at the end of the Transform 2019 plan) and the 140
Business Center dedicated to small businesses. On the other hand, the Corporate model is distinguished by a strong specialization in the various customer segments, in order to optimize service, satisfaction and maximize cross-selling. The six Corporate Managers are responsible for 70 Commercial Areas distributed throughout the country, 51 of which serve top and middle corporate customers (turnovers up to 350 million euro), 5 large Corporate customers (turnovers above 350 million), 7 the public sector and 7 real estate.
