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Home > GERMANY > Rampenlicht
LEONARDO BAGNOLI: PROUD TO BE 100% ITALIAN
Rome - (Ign) - "I am part of a family that has built up this company from nothing over 60 years: my uncle Renzo, who died in 2001, my father Loriano and my cousin Marco, (current managing directors) and my uncle Sergio, the chairman. For us, being a family does not just mean getting together for Christmas dinner, but also great collaboration in running the business, and this is our strength". This is how Leonardo Bagnoli, the youngest of the owners of Sammontana, introduces his company, which today is the third largest in the Italian industrial ice-cream market and the largest company in the sector whose capital is entirely Italian. This is a company with a net turnover of €180m, two production facilities (one of 50,000 square metres for the production of ice-cream, and the other of 38,000 dedicated to their pastry products), and 800 employees.
Sammontana's is the story of a family-run business that competes with the major multinationals. How do you manage to keep up with companies that have a turnover similar to the GDP of a small country?
Every company has its peculiar characteristics and definitely those of our competitors are awesome: economic strength, contractual bargaining power, international research and development and large scale economies. But we have characteristics they don't, and which they can neither imitate nor buy: the pride of representing Italy in this market, the skill of the Sammontana staff, and the great speed in taking decisions, the result of a short hierarchical ladder and personal relationships at all levels. This may seem less important that the investments our competitors make in communication, but it isn't. The most important thing is how much heart people put into their work, and at Sammontana our staff give their all, and I thank them for it every day.
A lot is said about family-run businesses, and many analysts of the Italian industrial system claim that this is the real thing holding back company growth. But yours is a success story. Why?
The analysts are trying to say that family-run businesses never exceed a certain size, never manage to make more than a billion euros' turnover; and they're right. In fact, at a certain point they stop having those characteristics that brought them success, but at the same time do not possess the features typical of multinationals, which are the only companies able to govern large-scale structures. At this point there are two possibilities: either they become unmanageable, or the ownership quickly manages to change approach, focussing less on "human" aspects and more on "accounting" and managerial concerns. Our size still allows the traditional family organisation, but I really hope that sooner or later we find ourselves having to face this difficult management choice, because it will mean we have successfully tackled a number of market challenges.
After diversification into the pastry sector, one of the possible chances of growth for Sammontana was that of a takeover in Italy, but this has not yet materialised. Is this still your aim?
Our aim is to do the best possible for our company and its future: this may mean taking over another company, but there are many other ways to try and improve. For example, developing the company business units which are experiencing most growth, such as pastries. With our brand ("Il Pasticciere") we are in second place in the market, with a turnover representing 21% of the company total. We intend to increase production and value in a market which increasingly shows that it appreciates the quality of our products.
You recently said: "Italian products are good for everyone, often also for foreigners who exploit Italianness, making consumers believe that their products are the result of Italian skill". Can you tell us what you were referring to in particular?
Italian products are not intended as being literally only those produced in Italy, but also a product made by an Italian company and with the Italian concept and style. It is clear that the best thing for our country is a product made in Italy by an entirely Italian company, such as Sammontana, Rana or Illy; and we should also consider that foreign multinationals sooner or later shift their wealth to their countries of origin, and Italy becomes poorer. Even in the world of fashion, Italian par excellence, this process is extremely advanced, and there are very few really Italian brands left. This is not a condemnation, but just something I feel we should think about. This is a problem that is never faced, and perhaps it's time we started talking about it.
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