Mario Moretti Polegato: “Innovation, ideas and licences These are the
main reasons of our group’s growth”
The history of Geox seems a real and true dream…It starts from an
innovative idea of a footwear group, that in only 10 years becomes
orldwide leading footwear producer with 35.000 direct and indirect
employees and in 2007 turnover of 770 million Euro.
What is the secret of so much success? Is it maybe a consolidated
marketing strategy?
Geox is founded on 4 main pillars, that are today the true reason
of growth and success. Since the beginning we adopted a managerial
usiness model, creating a team that believed in the project and had
distinct and specific competences, from production to finance etc. The
second factor was, and still is, research and development investments,
without which it would have been impossible to create technologically
advanced products. From this point of view every year 2% of turnover is
dedicated to research. Another important aspect is training, carried
out at all levels from warehouse to top management, by different types
of update courses. The high point of “made in Geox” training is the
Geox School, a company master dedicated to the young newly appointed.
The 4th and last fundamental is communication and marketing investments.
Even the best ideas aren’t known if not communicated.
Geox continues to have an annual average turnover increase not
withstanding the global textile-footwear competition crisis in mature
economic countries. What is this growth due to? Product innovation know
how or are there other innovative elements in Geox’s management
formula? If so, which are they?
Innovation, ideas and licences. These are the main reasons of Geox’s
growth. The footwear sector is the most saturated and difficult one to
compete in, but thanks to unique product like ours we are able to
operate as though there is no competition. We can say that Geox has no
competitors as there are no products on the market that are able to
guarantee transpiration like our shoe that breathes.
Research and innovation is a duo that works side by side. Research
is fertile ground for innovation and for Geox this is a mission. This
is demonstrated by the fact that your company manages a real and true
research centre. How did this idea start and what is the main activity
of this centre? Do you also rely on University collaborations?
Well, we could say that the Geox research centre started up before the
company! I have always been an innovator and Geox takes life from my
passion for the “new”. At the end of the 80’s I was at Reno, in Nevada,
promoting family wine and after a conference I decided to have a walk.
Being annoyed by hot feet, due to rubber soles, I got a knife and made
a hole in both of them to let the heat out. Once I was back in Italy I
didn’t throw them away, but I tried to cover the holes and make the
rubber soles waterproof and transpirant. A personal intuition led me to
discover that US astronauts gear were made of a material that had the
exact two characteristics that I was looking for. That is where the
idea of “the shoe that breathes” comes from, that I patented and from
which the Geox Group started. From then we have gone far, considering
that today we have an R&D centre with 15 engineers that study material
transpiration and human heat dynamics. To this we add collaboration
with Universities, such as Ca’ Foscari of Venice, or Padova’s and
Milan’s National Research Centres, or Italian and foreign private
centres. Thanks to research we can satisfy our consumer’s necessities
worldwide.
What do you think is indispensable for an innovative company that is
starting to work in international markets? Which constraints and
opportunities are there for medium size companies today?
In general I think that Italy should change enormously and pass from an
industrial capitalism, physically producing goods, to cultural
capitalism,centred on cultural and research investments. A company must
know how to listen to the market as it is the consumers that indicate
where to go .Today everybody wants and expect innovation and when one
is able to offer it , no recession can stop entry in new markets. It is
not important to be big , but to be clever. In Italy we have small
companies that are leaders in very particular patented products. From
my point of view this is the most correct : investments in innovative
and patented ideas.
The footwear industry has been victim of many declines in these last
few years, but in spite of this your company has not had to confront
expansion problems. What is it that puts you in a higher position than
others? What do you think of the US market?
Geox is different from any other footwear producer because it offers
the market a unique product, made of Italian fashion and technology.
Geox hasn’t only the heritage of professionalism and know how of the
various Italian district shoemakers, but has also added a concept that
doesn’t historically belong to Italy: technology. In Us there is
currently a big crisis that does not help those who export from Europe,
but there are still big business opportunities. Geox is growing well in
the US too and is enlarging multi label distribution, presence in the
best department stores and the mono label Geox shops.
Geox produces parts of shoes outside Italy in 68 different countries.
At this point is it still possible to talk of Geox as a Made in Italy
brand?
Before any thing else Geox is a Made in Technology product for the
reasons that I mentioned before, but it is also true that Made in Italy
comes out strongly in our products. The ideas, the research, style and
projection are work of great Italian talents. Our principle investments
in Geox are dedicated to human resources, training and research.
You have received honours more than once as a manager: “Manager of
the year” in 2002 conferred by Ernst&Young, “Best worldwide Italian
Manager” by Borsa Italiana and Sole24Ore, “for the best national and
international strategic use of incentives and market opportunities,
united to continuous innovation capacity” again from Ernst&Young. Have
you still many future projects, what finishing lines do you still want
to reach?
It is difficult to talk of finishing line, as it gives me the idea of a
point of arrival. Lets say that every year I have the same aim: to
sustain Geox’s growth more than the year before. In some markets we are
already leaders , but there are many others-US and Asia- that offer
great growth opportunities as we have already started expanding. We
also have many top secret patents in our laboratories that we will
present to our consumers in time. In general we can say that we have 2
big dreams :make Geox become one of the worlds principle footwear
producers and dedicate a part of my time to teaching, being able to
stimulate the young to believe more in technology.
They say that Pope Benedetto XVI wears Geox shoes? Is it an honour
for you?
The fact that pope Benedetto XVI wears our shoes during his walks is a
great honour for me and all the people that work in Geox . I also
receive many compliments from authorities and personalities that have
chosen our products, but the biggest joy comes from small consumers.
Nearly everyday I receive drawings from children that wear only Geox
and write thanking me. For them I am Mr Geox.
Geox is a brand in continuous growth that demonstrates to be able to
satisfy adults and children’s habits and ideas. The slogan is automatic:
it doesn’t matter if you are the Pope, the King or an Emperor, with
Geox you will find no obstacles.
724 single label Geox shops (data up to the 31st of December 2007) and
about 10.000 multi label clients.
• 770,2 million Euro turnover in 2007 (CAGR 01-07:+32%)
• 1st footwear brand in Italy and 3rd worldwide (source SGI,2007)
• Over 60% of turnover fulfilled abroad in over 68 countries.
• 123 million Euro net profit in 2007 (CAGR 01-07:+60%)
Geox spa
Via Feltrina Centro 16
31030 Montebelluna ( Tv) - Italy
www.geox.com |
