Turnover up by 5%, the development of the sales network, the expansion of the headquarters in Monte San Pietrangeli, training and hiring staff after participating in the shoemaker course held by the Cfp “Artigianelli” of Fermo (from September it will be a three-year course). B.A.G. Ltd, owners of the NeroGiardini brand, are continuing to conquer market shares thanks to the strategies adopted by their CEO Enrico Bracalente, who is investing in internationalization. Made in Italy, product quality, client services, and paying attention to the end-user, have always been the basis for the entrepreneur’s project to expand. Men, women and children footwear is in constant development (the Autumn-Winter collection dedicated to the 20-35 year olds will be debuting); the segments dedicated to clothes and accessories is also growing. There are 60 one-brand stores (both direct and franchising), about a hundred other shops in shops located in particular in large retail stores, and over two thousand multi-brand stores.
NeroGiardini closed its first 2015 semester with a revenue of € 103.7 million, 5% more than the same period of 2014 (a year ago the turnover from January to June was € 98.8 million). These figures were shown to the press this morning in the B.A.G. Ltd Headquarters of Monte San Pietrangeli, by Enrico Bracalente. His son Alessandro and daughter Gloria, were at his side, both work full time in the company.
“We’re facing a global market with determination and certainty, thanks to a young and trustworthy team of collaborators – stressed Enrico Bracalente -. We closed 2014 by reaching a turnover of € 204 million. We want to continue to grow and consolidate, the numbers of the last semester confirm that we are right: I am +5% satisfied”.
Over the last two years, NeroGiardini has been expanding solidly towards foreign markets, which, today represent 20% of its turnover. “The nations of reference – added Bracalente – are: Belgium, Russia, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany. The export sales network keeps growing month after month: we want to cover the whole of Europe. Each salesperson is assisted by an account executive for Spain and Portugal, France, Benelux, Austria and Germany. In Belgium we created an agency of representation that covers the entire Benelux area.
As far as Russia is concerned, the 1000m2 warehouse dedicated to retail, will be operative in a month’s time. Our historic Russian agent who has been with us since 2006, has now become one of our partners and is leading an operation that will allow him to offer our clients services. Numbers are growing also in Spain and in France. And at the same time we are also aligning investments in advertising”. In order to monitor and support the agents in markets abroad, the B.A.G. Ltd has created an internal office of qualified and multilingual staff. And still remaining abroad, the third one-brand store is about to open: “After Prague and Frankfurt – said Bracalente – in September we are going to open the first NeroGiardini flagship store in Girona, (Catalonia), Spain. And we are also starting to open shops in shops abroad too: ten with Pittarosso in France and two in Belgium. And this is just the beginning”.
As far as the proposal of expanding the headquarters in Monte San Pietrangeli is concerned, the project has been presented: “There will be new areas allocated for another 20 offices and for a showroom dedicated to the clients. The work will begin as soon as we receive the relative authorisations”.
Bracalente has called for a press conference to take stock of the situation of the course for shoemakers financed by NeroGiardini and managed by the Professional Training Center, “Artigianelli –Don Ricci” of Fermo. Father Sante Pessot, director of the Cfp “Artigianelli” also articipated at the conference. The numbers are important: the first two courses were biannual (2012-2014 and 2013-2015) with 22 students that graduated. Every one of them have been hired by the NeroGiardini group. “The third biannual course – explained Enrico Bracalente – started in May and there are 17 students participating. The number of people enrolling is increasing, and this is a tangible sign of the value of the project. There is, furthermore, an innovation: from September the course will last three years. It is the right recognition on behalf of the competent bodies, of a school curriculum created to help young people aged 16 to 18 years and that today will be of interest to those students who have just finished junior high school”. The three-year course, reserved for fourteen and fifteen year olds, will last a total of 3,168 hours. At the end of the three year course they will receive a third level regional qualification, recognized at a European level.
