Brand Synergy

An Interview with Giuseppe Aquila, Chief Executive Offi cer, ELMO & MONTEGRAPPA S.p.A.

EDITORS’ NOTE Giuseppe Aquila When you reac- we design is a native of Naples, Italy. In 1988, quired Montegrappa, all products he entered one of his family’s busi- what were your key keeping in mind nesses, the Lalex Pen Company. areas of focus? that the pen should be used. originally, when While completing his college studies prior to the ac- pen collecting started, people would not use at the University of Naples, Aquila quisition, a large per- their pens because they felt inking the pen oversaw export activities for the centage of our business was limited would diminish the value of the product. other family business, Montegrappa. editions – very exclusive, high priced, we now see that most people like to use He became CEO of Montegrappa and directed to a specifi c niche of the their pens. also, in the past, only collectors in 1992. In 2000, Aquila sold market. were those who were prepared to spend a cer- Montegrappa to Richemont and be- in the past few years, under the tain amount of money on a pen. today, even came International Marketing and richemont ownership, the idea was to people who are not collectors will spend $5,000 Commercial Manager for the new Giuseppe Aquila have a more mass-oriented vision. so or $10,000 on a pen that is a roller ball – not division. In 2002, he and his father, they created some lines with more af- even a fountain pen. so it’s something they Gianfranco, established the Aquila Group and, fordable price points. want to use. in 2004, acquired Tibaldi, which is Italy’s old- this worked well for the brand, but we How has the Tibaldi brand evolved, and est pen brand. want to repossess control of that niche of the does that brand complement Montegrappa market that is typical of montegrappa, which is or is it a separate market? COMPANY BRIEF Since 1912, Montegrappa the limited editions. another objective of ours is to exploit the (www.montegrappa.com), the fi rst Italian pen in the past 12 months, one of our priori- synergies between brands. manufacturer, has been producing quality writ- ties has been product development. we created through the acquisition of montegrappa, ing instruments with an Italian fl air. Among a limited edition dedicated to celebrating the we have created a new plan for distribution the many soldiers who used Montegrappa pens 100th anniversary of alfa romeo, which has where the distributor could benefi t from adding (then known as Elmo) to write letters home dur- been extremely successful. both lines. we’re trying to bring the two brands ing World War I were renowned American there are many other new items coming in into the same areas to have more real estate writers Ernest Hemingway and John Dos the last quarter of this year. within stores for both brands. Passos. Montegrappa was acquired in 2000 by Many who think of Montegrappa envi- a big part of the tibaldi business is rep- Richemont and, in June 2009, was reacquired sion a high-end, top level clientele. Do you resented by bentley, and our relationship with by the Aquila family. It, along with Tibaldi, now see it that way or do the price points at the bentley is being expanded. they introduced a falls under ELMO & MONTEGRAPPA S.p.A. entry level allow for somewhat of a broader new continental in september and we worked market? closely with the designer so the pen is featured How were Montegrappa and Tibaldi af- we have different limited edition price within the car itself. fected during the recession, and what is points for all buyers. we also have a plan going forward to bring your outlook for the recovery of the luxury we have an entry-level range of limited back some of the original tibaldi designs in 2011. segment? editions in the $1,000 retail, which is our genio in acquiring montegrappa, we have access once we are in a unique position, because we creativo collection. most of the other limited again to the use of celluloid, and montegrappa reacquired the montegrappa business one year editions go from $3,000 to $40,000. is the only company that uses celluloid today in ago. this was bad timing because of the inter- the genio creativo limited edition range the pen industry. tibaldi was also a brand that national crisis, but it was an opportunity for us – was introduced by richemont, and we wish to used celluloid in the early 1900s, so we want to without the crisis, we could not have reacquired maintain it, even though we are more interested bring back some of the original designs using the business. in higher priced products. celluloid in the tibaldi line. Last year was hard for us as we reor- we’re also active at this time in the be- What did it mean to you personally to ganized the business, re-launched the dis- spoke area: tailor-made products for special reacquire the Montegrappa brand? tribution, and reinvented the brand. but it customers. this part of the business is growing it was an incredible feeling for me and my has been very profitable as well. we have considerably. family. although the earlier sale was a business been able to reposition montegrappa to be another area where we have grown a lot decision that made sense at the time, we regret- very successful in the market as it originally over these past 12 months is supplying special ted it because we missed it a lot and realized was and have cemented the relationship with pens created for many of the governments in what we had lost. there is a heritage that comes the authorized dealers we have around the europe where montegrappa pens have become out of a company like montegrappa.• world. a favorite gift for country presidents to present the fi rst two quarters of 2010 were phe- to visitors on offi cial visits. Montegrappa Icons Tribute to Muhammad Ali Limited Edition Solid nomenal and July was a huge month in terms of For your price points in the $30,000 to 18-karat Gold and Diamond Fountain Pen (top); Montegrappa sales, which is unheard of; normally it is a slow $40,000 range, are these pieces useable or for Alfa Romeo 100th Anniversary Limited Edition Sterling Silver- time of year for our industry. are they more so collector’s items? Trimmed Celluloid and Carbon Fiber Fountain Pen volume 33, number 4 posted with permission. copyright © 2010 magazine, inc. Leaders 145