I would like to update you about an interview I gave to the Italian portal Tiscali.it, where I talk about RiFRA, since its birth and development.
In addition, the discussion with the journalist focused on a point about the health condition of furniture industry and, more generally, of manufacturing industry in Italy.
It ends with a comment about Euro, the single European currency.
I entirely report it here below, or you can directly read it on the website of Tiscali by clicking here (it is in Italian):
As always, I carefully listen to feedbacks, then leave a comment on the blog, or answer to this email and I will reply as soon as possible.
Enjoy the reading!
[The interview] “I explain why Italian products are the top in the luxury sector”
Why is Italy one of the leading countries at international level in the high end of many productive sectors?
Can the strong position of our companies be endangered by the rise of new and fearsome competitors such as the Chinese? These are some of the questions that Tiscali News has asked Matteo Rivolta, an entrepreneur from Milan who exports luxury kitchens and bathrooms all over the world.
by Michael Pontrelli – Twitter: @micpontrelli
Matteo Rivolta is the CEO of RiFRA, one of the leading Italian companies in the luxury furniture sector. RiFRA sells kitchens and bathrooms all over the world and among its customers boasts the King of Jordan and the president of Cadillac. 85% of the turnover is made abroad. The main markets are Northern Europe, the United States and Russia. It has showrooms in Milan, Modena and Paris and he will inaugurate a new one in New York the next autumn. Tiscali News heard him to understand the reasons for the success of his company and more generally of Made in Italy in the high-end market.
When was RiFRA born?
“The company has been active since 1930 but the brand was founded in 1970. For years we have been working to realize our dream, which is to bring the style of Milan and Italian design into the world.
Where does production take place?
“In Brianza, which is the cradle of quality furniture, of well-made furniture. To this we add the emotion of design”.
How much does one of your products cost on average?
“The cost of a kitchen depends on several factors such as size, finishes and technology. There are several variants in our catalogue. We start from 20-25 thousand euros up to over 100 thousand euros for the most equipped models. The figures are more or less the same for full bathrooms.
Who are your typical customers?
“Entrepreneurs, professionals, managers who appreciate design and are looking for the best quality on the market. We follow them step by step, from design to the final installation, all over the world”.
What is the state of health of Italian furniture?
“In recent years there has been a very strong selection. From 2008 to 2015, the hardest years of the crisis, nearly 12 thousand companies have closed. The most innovative exporters, who invested during the good years in products, marketing, brands, finishes, research and development, have withstood this challenge. The companies of this sector today are stronger and healthier than before, more structured and internationalized. Sales are returning to pre-crisis levels.
It’s not easy but the road is marked.
Do I understand that the companies that have made it are those that have focused on quality and therefore on the highest end of the market?
“Exactly. I think that this is the right strategy not only for furniture but also in general for all the Italian industrial sectors. If we look at Marchionne’s (Fiat Chrysler CEO) latest industrial plan, the aim is to leave in Italy only the production of high-end cars such as Alfa Romeo and Maserati. If we Italians focus on price we are losers because there will always be someone, in Eastern Europe or Asia, who produces at lower costs”.
However, some have criticized Marchionne’s choice, claiming that the volumes of luxury cars are low and therefore the effects on employment are limited.
“We need to talk about the country system. For a variety of reasons, producing in Italy is expensive. Margins on small cars, and more generally on low-end products, are small and often generate losses. Businesses are only sustainable if they make a profit.
Can the Chinese be a threat to Italians in the furniture sector? How defensible is the position of strength we have today?
“I wouldn’t say threatening because competition is good for the market. The Chinese are concentrated in their domestic market and in the United States, where they have conquered the low-end market. Unlike the leading European companies in the entry-level sector, such as Ikea, however, they do not use local producers but make all the production in China.
At product level, they are quite far from us Italians. The client who seeks the high-end and luxury does not want a copy but the original. It looks for the brand and its history that has been going on for decades, or even centuries. The strength that today protects Italian companies is their specialization, their ability to care for a product in every detail. All this makes the client feel gratified and proud to show his friends and family his kitchen or his Italian design bathroom as a status symbol”.
Who are our most important competitors in luxury?
“In general, Italy, Germany and, to some extent, France are the leading countries in the world of high-end products. As far as furniture is concerned, the product that competes with the Italian one is the German one.
They are very technical and technologically perfect. Our products are more emotional, preferred by more sophisticated customer who likes the design and attention to detail, such as a handmade seam or the particular coating of a kitchen.
Why are Italians good at luxury and style?
“It stems from our history, from the cultural background that we inherited from the Renaissance and that has moved to our industrial design schools such as Politecnico di Milano.
Added to this is the ability to be an international point of reference. Milanese events on design and furniture attract people from all over the world, who come to find the latest news from Italian manufacturers and brands.
A system has been created, based on the Milan hub, which works and which makes Italy a leading country in the furnishing sector but not only”.
In Italy, a discussion on whether or not to continue to stay in the Euro has been going on for some time now. Those in favor of abandoning the single European currency argue that it would favor exports. Would this be good for RiFRA?
“I cannot conceive of Italy or Milan without the euro. This hypothesis has not even to be taken into consideration.
Devaluation is the alibi of losers. The good companies that resisted the crisis exported with the strong euro because it was quality product and design that made them compete on equal terms with the Germans. As I said earlier, we can no longer think about ourselves as the Chinese of Europe.
It would also be financially crazy to leave the Euro. In order to produce, a company has to invest in machinery, and the lease of it has to be paid in Euros. If we go back to the devalued liras someone has to explain to me how he returns to the profit and loss account”.
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