A sector, that of e-commerce, which is increasingly penetrating the habits of consumers all over the world, including Italy. Launched by the Amazon phenomenon, which still plays the lion's share more and more, it is now entering popular culture with events now attended by almost everyone such as Black Friday, up to Christmas shopping via the Internet, given that we are in the holiday season . Ventis, the company of the Iccrea Banca group entirely dedicated to e-commerce, fits into this context, above all through the enhancement of the products of the local SMEs and their valorisation. The story is told to FIRSTonline by the founder Cristiano Brambilla.
What is the origin of Ventis, what is its entrepreneurial history?
“The entrepreneurial history of Ventis dates back to January 2010, the year in which the company was founded which, after the acquisition by Iccrea Banca, changed its name to Ventis. In its first guise, the activity was aimed, primarily, at the B2B supply of Italian brands to the major e-commerce portals in the world. On the ability to do product sourcing for online (believe me 7 years ago it was not obvious to convince a company to sell in the e-commerce channel!) the digital and technological expertise has been grafted which has allowed its business to change, abandoning the previous one and giving birth to the current portal www.ventis.it, thanks to the entry into its share capital by Iccrea Banca SpA which took place last February 2016.”
How did the idea of Ventis come about?
“Iccrea Banca SpA's will to digitize SMEs, which are the most representative customers of Cooperative Credit, and to offer local excellence a portal dedicated to them, on which the retail customers of mutual banks (households) can purchase their products is the basis of the founding idea of Ventis. For the mutual banks, Ventis also represents an excellent customer loyalty tool; just think of the advantages for their e-money sector, which can create a strong incentive for their B2C customers to use payment cards as a spending method on the portal or with the placement of new products for electronic payment such as the Ventis Card, in partnership with Mastercard and recently the subject of a television campaign on Sky channels. It has also proved to be a very effective lever towards the business customers of the mutual banks, as it shifts the axis of competitiveness of the banks from a logic of price to a logic of relationship, adding value to the relationship between the mutual banks and the customer.
What are the strengths of the Company and its growth prospects in the e-commerce sector?
“Operating in a mature and highly competitive market dominated by giants, I think that distinctiveness has been and will be its greatest strength in the future; distinctiveness that manifests itself in different fields. The first is the business case. As far as I know, there is currently no e-shopping portal owned by a bank in the world. The second is the Italian spirit. There is no company in this field that is 100% Italian, both as regards the corporate structure and the commercial proposition, which enhances and pushes Made in Italy companies. The third is the image and treatment reserved for brands of great quality and typically Italian taste. Thanks to this approach, the consumer perceives both the quality of the products and the convenience of purchasing, while the company has no fear that its product will be debased or that its off-line distribution will be damaged. On the contrary, for most of them and in particular for the excellences of the Cooperative Credit customer area, it represents an important brand awareness vehicle that advertises the company and its products outside its territory, on a national and international scale. towards a Premium customer base. I think that on these bases there are strong growth prospects for Ventis, being able, in addition to the open market, to also tap into the "internal" market represented by the customers of the nascent Cooperative Banking Group: 20.600 collaborators - 3,6 million customers - 2.200.000. 2016 debit cards operational as of 800.000 – 600.000 credit cards and 2017 prepaid cards operational as of XNUMX.”
In your opinion, what is the evolution of e-commerce in the light of current market trends and continuous technological progress?
“The conference “Shopping Map. The design of the shopping experience according to new social consumption trends” held last December 5 at the Milan Triennale, which I had the pleasure of participating as a speaker, highlighted the consumption trends, with a focus on clusters of clientele that I found very interesting and in line with the direction in which Ventis is moving. Analyzing the trends of the last 20 years, the research can have a punctual analysis from which it can in fact be seen how the price and discount lever is no longer decisive, if not minimally and for a clientele that is advancing more and more over the years. On the other hand, the search for new products, quality, distinctiveness and a rewarding shopping experience is growing more and more and represents the largest share of consumers. I believe that the natural and easily verifiable matching between the positioning of Ventis and the evolution of consumer tastes and styles is the best snapshot of the evolution of the e-commerce market and of the road we want to travel. Now in Italy and in the near future also with outlets on foreign markets, such as the USA or the United Arab Emirates, bringing our Italian spirit and our Made in Italy to those countries.”
