Growth Strategic Models in the Sector of Professional Equipment for the Food Service
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Master’s Degree programme – Second Cycle in Business Administration (classe LM-77), curriculum in International Management Final Thesis Growth Strategic Models in the sector of Professional Equipment for the Food Service Supervisor Ch. Prof. Stefano Micelli Assistant Supervisor Ch. Prof. Isabella Procidano Graduand Alberto Polato Matriculation Number 813068 Academic Year 2014 / 2015 Hidden champions are small and medium-sized enterprises unknown to the general public but through their strong specialization on a niche market, they are ranked top in the world. They export most of their products, contributing significantly to the economy of their countries, and are more successful than the average. Hermann Simon Abstract The white goods sector represents one of the hallmarks of the Italian economy; it is considered the second manufacturing industry after the automotive. This sector is fragmented into a wide range of products such as chimneys and smoke ducts, hoods, air-conditioning and heat pumps, large appliances, small appliances, freestanding cookers, electric boilers, professional equipment for the food service and so on. The dissertation examines in depth only one of them, the segment of the Professional Equipment for the Food Service. Although the manufacturers of Professional Equipment represent a market niche and they generate only a small share of the total turnover of the white goods sector, the Confindustria association CECED Italia identifies the Professional Equipment as the healthiest branch inside the white goods. Unlike other sectors, the figures show how the domestic production of Professional equipment for the Food service has not suffered from the arrival of the Low Cost Countries in the international scene. Conversely, the Italian manufacturers have been able to increase their competitiveness and expand the presence on world markets. Since forever, Italy is recognized as the homeland of the good eating and drinking with its tasteful cuisine. The world is full of typical Italian places like pizzerias, restaurants and bars where people go to taste a piece of Italian culture. The manufacturers of Professional equipment are part of this cultural movement: they act as architects for handing down and spreading knowledge and desire for the Italian taste through an unquestionable know-how in manufacturing Coffee machines, professional Kitchens, Refrigerators, Gelato machines, Ice makers, equipment for Bakery, etc. These products are the symbol of one of the sectors of the Made in Italy – Food – best known and appreciated in the world. The analysis of the manufacturers of Professional Equipment is complex due to the different products included in the sector. After having studied the dynamics and the profitability levels for each product family in a time interval of 5 years, the dissertation presents some successful business cases identified for their best economic performance both on the domestic market and outside the national borders, and for their constant flux of innovation in the product offer. Through the study of these successful companies, leaders in their strategic business area, the dissertation research aims to draw an innovative business strategy built on a new value proposition driven by unique Design, cutting-edge Technology solutions, and a high level of Quality in terms of product and working processes. The theoretical model resulting from this research highlights the Design, Technology and Quality as the three pillars on which companies can build a continuous process of product innovation. Index Introduction 9 The “white goods”: the paradox of an industry for long time flagship of the Italian manufacturing 11 1. Domestic and Professional appliances: from past glories to a deep crisis 11 1.1. A wide range of products 12 1.2. The second engine of the Italian manufacturing industry 14 1.3. An internal crisis and the threat from the Low Cost Countries 17 1.4. Differentiated scenarios between product segments 35 The Hidden niche of Professional equipment for Food service 45 2. An overview of niche manufacturers of Professional equipment 45 2.1. The research method 46 2.2. The Database 50 2.3. Nine Strategic Business Areas 58 2.4. Differences in performance between Strategic Business Areas 65 Four cases of fast growing and international SMEs 73 3. Elektra espresso coffee machines as furnishing elements 79 3.1. From the first machine in 1947 to International recognition 79 3.2. Innovative concepts combined with the finest Artisan tradition 80 4. Luxury tailor-made kitchens made in Pordenone 88 4.1. Company profile and products 88 4.2. Design flexibility and Quality Artisan 90 5. Berto’s, the Italian culinary art in professional equipment for cooking 95 5.1. A company-flagship of the “Made in Italy” 95 5.2. Design, technology and manufacturing aspects 97 6. Irinox, a pioneer in the Technology for the Refrigeration 105 6.1. Twenty years History of Steady Growth 105 6.2. Irinox Technology, a world benchmark for innovation and research 107 Hidden Champions for a new Model of Strategic Growth 115 7. The three pillars that bind the Hidden Champions 118 7.1 Design of Bespoke products with a strong Italian Style 118 7.2 The Technological innovations aimed to increase the performance 120 7.3 Quality innovation: coexistence of Artisanship and Digital manufacturing 122 Annexes 125 Annex 1 – The identity of territories Annex 2 – The commodities codes of ATECO 2007 Annex 3 – List of Italian manufacturers of Professional equipment Annex 4 – Mapping the Professional equipment segment (2013) Annex 5 – Survey template for the selected Business cases Elektra Srl Luxury tailor-made kitchen made in Pordenone Berto’s SpA Irinox SpA Charts, Tables and Figures 155 Bibliography and Web references 159 Introduction The sector of the domestic and professional appliances is one of the most emblematic expressions of success reached by Italian creative entrepreneurs, becoming the “factory of Europe” since the 1950s and the second manufacturing sector of the Italian economy, after the automotive. However, the scenario presented in the introductory chapter describes the paradox of a sector relevant in terms of turnover and workers employed but, in the last years, subjected to a deep crisis of competitiveness and continuous waves of delocalization that lead the last Italian producers towards Low-Cost Countries. Although the picture is grim and the sustainability of the sector in the short run is at stake, a subarea of manufacturing into the white goods – the professional equipment for the food service – of which Italy is a world leader, shows production figures and economic data in countertrend. The aim of this dissertation is to go through the white goods sector in Italy, characterized by an inexorable decline no yet to the end, and to analyze in detail the niche of Professional equipment for the Food service where Italian makers are successful in increasing their margins and growing on international markets. If in a first part of the dissertation, the sector of Professional equipment has been introduced starting from an external vision of the economic context. The second part takes a top-down approach through an internal standpoint. The scope is to study closely the features of a sector that is immune to the crisis affecting the Italian industry of domestic appliances. Therefore, the second chapter is the beginning of the analysis and aims to display the sector of Professional equipment by gathering in a database the Italian manufacturers. This database has been built using the source AIDA and collects the financial statements of 341 firms over a time interval of 5 years, from 2009 to 2013. Then, these firms have been distinguished among nine Strategic Business Areas related to different product categories: Bakery production; Coffee machines; Cooking; General equipment; Gelato machines and Beverage dispensers; Ice makers; Refrigeration; Turnkey; and Washing. 9 Considering the positive trend that marks the segment of Professional equipment for the Food service, a second cycle of analysis will assess the differences in performance among the Strategic Business Areas. The purpose is to identify which product categories have showed the highest growth in the time interval based on the comparison of the average growth in Turnover from 2009, and the EBITDA levels in 2013 per each Strategic Business Areas. By following a top-down approach, the subsequent chapters will move the focus into the Strategic Business Areas of Coffee machines, Cooking and Refrigeration. These chapters analyze four business cases that, as shown by their success, they can act as driving force for the entire segments. The challenge of this section is to explain the strategic drivers behind the product innovations that have led these companies to achieve an international success. The study of these business cases has been carried out through information gathered on internet, interviews of experts directly involved in the business processes, and factory tours when it was possible. Finally, the conclusive section summarizes the innovation drivers and the processes activated by these companies in order to build a new value proposition and a solid strategic model of steady growth. The noble aim proposed by this research is to suggest and shape what the future for the Italian manufacturers (not only of Professional equipment) could be for the next decades. In drafting the chapters has been privileged a synthetic argument of numbers also with the widespread use of charts and