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ISSUE

002 APRIL TWO THOUSAND & THIRTEEN Dear colleagues,

pag. 2-3

Welcome to the 2013 first edition of our divisional magazine!

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

Plenty of news, starting from the Group results for year 2012, going through the Top Employers Certification award, and on to insights and info on products, events and projects on a global scale!

Our Divisional CEO Marco Pezzana updates on 2012 Group results, Divisional organization and CEO awards; the HR Director Marco Scippa talks about 2013 Top Employers Certification pag. 4-5

NEWS FROM OUR WORLD

Articles from the Group and from our companies in the US, UK, Italy and Hong Kong pag. 6-7

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

Article from our CMO Renzo Rizzo, news about the market, new installations and Red Dot award

Moreover, there is also a new section launched under the People Focus pages: CLICK ME, a quick, light and nice way to learn more about our colleagues! In each edition two colleagues, selected from HQ, distributions or business units, will undergo a “double interview”, sharing their thoughts, curiosities, desires. As always, we invite you to actively participate in Snapshot life, sharing news and highlights of our “Imaging world”. If you want to submit anything for publication, just get in touch with the editorial staff or send an email to snapshot@manfrotto.com; we will be more than happy to involve you in the next magazine edition.

pag. 8-9

RECENT EVENTS

A round-up of events and initiatives from the last months and Picture of the Month winners pag. 10-11

PEOPLE FOCUS

Welcome to new employees, Click me and initiatives for our people

Product highlight: check out the new Manfrotto “BeFree” traveler tripod Coming soon!

GOOD RESULTS

IN 2012, SOUND BASIS FOR 2013 CHALLENGES

In February the Vitec Group announced its results for the year 2012.

Message from the Divisional CEO, Marco Pezzana

As we all know, last year our markets took a significant U-turn after two years of sustained growth. The reasons for the slowdown in demand are to be found, partly, in the heavy recession in the Euro zone, but also in some other factors: • The absence of new DSLR models in the first half of 2012, as a consequence of the natural disasters that occurred in Japan and Thailand in 2011; • The impact of new technologies (mirrorless - CSC) and the launch of the new Smartphone generations (iPhone 5, Galaxy III) that have influenced demand for DSLR and Compact cameras respectively; • The US market slowdown, due both to Presidential elections and to Hurricane Sandy that hit the USA at the end of last year. As a clear result of all these events, DSLR and Supports markets didn’t increase and the Bags market suffered a heavy downturn. The video-broadcasting segment also had some difficulties because of the contraction of Adv. production and the upgrade of HD technology coming to maturity. To sum up, a really difficult year, during which however both the Vitec Group and our Division achieved good economic results by leveraging our main strengths: • Higher quality, innovative products that, despite weak demand, achieved or maintained market shares in all product categories; • Widespread international presence, that enabled us to be more incisive and grow in the emerging markets; • Efficiency! In 2012 we put in a lot of effort and made investments in order to reduce operating costs, thus protecting profit and competitiveness in spite of the pressure on prices and margins set by the market.

House Organ Vitec Group Imaging Division Vitec Group Imaging Division Via Valsugana 100 36022 Cassola (Vicenza) Ph. +39 0424 555 855 Email: snapshot@manfrotto.com Editor in Chief Marco Pezzana Editorial Staff Francesca Sandonà, Shanaray Langdon Editorial collaborators Alison Hallett, Anne Larsen, Anthony Yip, Anthony Pak, Chris Latham, Christina Lei, Fabio Galliano, Filippo Rezzadore, Flavio Fiorio, Francesca Santacatterina, Gabriella Costa, Gary Astill, Giampietro Zancanaro, Giorgio Boscaro, Gino Belmonte, Giuseppe Bizzotto, Israel Weisser, James Tio, John Sexton, Letizia Bonamigo, Marco Pezzana, Marco Scippa, Marco Tortato, Maria Berkovich, Martina Tapparello, MD US Marketing Team, Matt Bailey, Nick Tsang, Nicola Faccini, Renzo Rizzo, Robert Feliciano, Romano Contin, Samuele Perenzin, Sarah Radisson, Silvia Luison, Stanley Xu, Steven Faskowitz, Thomas Penet, Verity Woolnough. Translations Silvia Stramenga, Francesca Sandonà Graphics and Printing E-Graphics Via Cesare Battisti, 270 37057 San Giovanni Lupatoto (VR)

Revenue Operating Profit Operating Margin

Vitec Group 2012 2011 £m £m

Imaging Division 2012 2011 £m £m

345.3

351.0

157.9

165.5

39.3

34.5

22.9

21.9

11.4%

9.8%

14.5%

13.2%

Against a moderate sales contraction, mainly connected to the disposal of Staging and of third party brands distributed by Manfrotto Distribution at low profitability, our Divisional margin grew by 1,3% whereas the Group’s consolidated margin grew by 1,6%, with an increase in the consolidated profit of about £5m. Despite a decrease in sales compared to the previous year and our budget forecast, our ability to focus on selling addedvalue products allowed us to achieve a good result in terms of profitability, by optimising both product costs and reducing nonstrategic operation expenses. And this is what we will focus on in 2013: efficiency and profitability. To be profitable in a weak market environment, we will have to keep our business sound and invest as necessary to start growing again as soon as the market recovers. The plan for investments and the launch of new products for 2013 will be top level: • At the end of March the new industrial site of Manfrotto Lighting in UK opened, hosting also the new offices and logistics platform of Manfrotto Distribution UK; • In April the new painting production line at Feltre will go live, allowing us to improve production timing and further decrease costs; • In May the new Klyp for iPhone 5 will be launched; • Starting from June we will be launching an extraordinary number of new top level products: new tripods for CSC cameras, the new Manfrotto “BeFree” traveler tripod, the completely revamped 190, the new Gitzo Mountaineer, the new Manfrotto Professional and Advanced Bags collections, the Kata outdoor backpacks, the National Geographic Voyager collection and a full line of new generation LED lights. As the market remains unpredictable and highly competitive, we will focus on productivity, efficiency and innovation, thus preparing the groundwork for new growth in 2014, or indeed from the second half of this year already! It’s up to us at Vitec Imaging; let’s keep up the good work!

VITEC GROUP ITALY: TOP EMPLOYERS 2013 WHAT’S BEHIND OUR SUCCESS STORY?

Message from the HR Director, Marco Scippa Last February, 26th, at the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, Vitec Group Italy was voted Top Employers Italy for the first time. This award is given to companies with high employment standards. The company must give evidence that not only are regulations regarding the well being of employees in place but they are also adhered to. This means, for example, guaranteeing the right balance between personal and working life, promoting anti-discrimination and offering a fair working environment with equal opportunities for development as well as recognition of merit. But let’s go back to the award ceremony. Seeing Marco Pezzana on the stage, receiving the award together with other multinational companies such as Ernst&Young, Tenaris, Tetrapak, Olympus,

British&American Tobacco, made me feel really satisfied and proud. While everybody was clapping for the awards, I thought to myself: “Yes, it’s true, we are good, but who should get the merit? Who is the main driving force?“. I reflected on this for a while and I came to the conclusion that, even though my team had worked really hard, we couldn’t have performed “miracles” in just one year. Furthermore, I couldn’t have come up with anything so special or momentous to receive such an important recognition. While trying to find an answer, it suddenly became clear: it was all about our story. Yes, I’m talking about the history of a company, our Company. In fact, year-by-year, through talent, sacrifice, commitment and passion, we have managed to become a world leader in the photo and video market. In short, the story is about US, the men and women of Vitec Group who, day after day, have contributed something to our story, a long adventure, full of sacrifices, satisfaction and hard work. In the end, we - the HR Team and I - have simply put it all together and given it a nice cover to make it a best seller. If we consider that we were voted amongst the 45 Top Employers in Italy on criteria such as salary and benefits levels, services to our employees (workspaces, gym, luncheon vouchers, canteen…), internal communication tools, flexible distribution of working time and others, what a great satisfaction! The challenge for 2014 will be to achieve the certification worldwide!

ORGANIZATION: fully focussed on the customer Marco Pezzana

Following the transition to a matrix organization that was implemented two years ago with the primary objective of securing stronger collaboration across divisional businesses and services, this year we have embarked on the last step of our journey towards the deployment of a marketing driven organization: put the customer at the centre of all our activities. The key drivers of the organizational changes that will be implemented in 2013 are: • Elevate the quality of our marketing initiatives further via deeper consumer insight, better co-ordination across businesses and a renewed focus on communication and in store implementation. To accomplish all this, we are strengthening the team further with new recruitment and some job rotation both at central and local level; • Focus business units on innovation and cost leadership. R&D and Operations become pivotal in the process of developing the most innovative products fast, qualitatively and cost effectively, as necessary to match the increased speed of innovation that we see in the camera industry, yet offering unprecedented quality at accessible prices. In other words create the best value proposition for the end users; • Supply chain and customer service will continue to evolve in support of the Regional Commercial Organization with the ambition of providing more proximity, faster and simplified services to our customers;

• Divisional services: we endeavour to reduce complexity, duplication of activities and unnecessary costs across the organization. The core objective is to become even more competitive, whilst releasing the financial resources required to invest more in innovation, marketing and people development; • Human Resources: we will further strengthen our HR team internationally as necessary to secure greater engagement and enable each employee to contribute their best to achieve company success. The re-organization of Manfrotto Distribution US last year, the recent restructuring of the Bag Unit, the development of a new Vitec Imaging business site in Ashby De La Zouch, the fast evolving Marketing organization, the significant investments deployed in the painting production line, robotics and lean manufacturing in Feltre, coupled with the development of the Imaging Buying Team in the Far East are all tangible examples of strategic initiatives consistent with the implementation of the above plan. Adding value to the end user and driving efficiency across the organization by working better together is the goal; evolving the organization further is the necessary step to enable all of us to achieve the objectives set out in our strategic plan successfully. Because people are the driving force of change, innovation and long lasting success.

Marco Pezzana

OUTSTANDING COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE – CEO AWARDS Each year since 2011 the Imaging Division has awarded a special tribute to commercial personnel who have achieved outstanding sales performance, by significantly beating budget either at country level or against set targets on specific assignments (key accounts, promotional activities, etc.).

In all instances the award consists of a long week-end abroad: a unique opportunity to share personal successes and unwind with a loved one but also an opportunity for the winners to visit a new market and meet local colleagues to share business experiences and exchange best practices.

The Divisional CEO at the end of each year revises individual commercial achievements of all commercial personnel compared to established objectives and awards up to ten employees, not only on the basis of the pure financial performance but also taking into account how such performance was achieved.

In 2011 the focus went on implementing the Manfrotto Power Brand programme and awards were given to Steven Faskowitz and Gino Belmonte from Manfrotto Distribution US who were able to launch Manfrotto tripods, bags and LED lights in some of the most prestigious chains in the USA, like Best Buy, Target and Amazon to mention a few.

Breaking new ground, in particular, is paramount: winning new channels, successfully launching new products, opening a new account or improving commercial conditions in parallel to beating budget are all key parameters that are taken into account when selecting the winners.

Sarah Radisson, Thomas Penet, Nick Tsang, Stanley Xu, Anthony Yip and James Tio (from Manfrotto Distribution France and Asia Pacific) gained distinction for achieving the highest sales during the launch of the 290 tripod. So, who are the commercial stars of 2012?

The only country that beat budget was Japan that concluded the year with a tremendous performance delivering unprecedented results both in terms of sales (+13% vs budget) and profitability (six times higher than budget). This exceptional achievement was first and foremost the outcome of great team work and strong leadership, with “Captain Takeshi” succeeding in fully deploying strategy by both opening new strategic accounts, introducing new products to market and successfully implementing new categories in stores: bags and LED especially.

This in turn secured necessary product availability and efficient stock levels, thereby enabling not only the achievement of the outstanding sales result but also a great performance of Manfrotto Distribution Japan in terms of operating cash flow. Last but not least, the 2012 CEO Award also goes to Chris Carr, Country Manager of Manfrotto Distribution UK, for his ability to conceive, create and successfully implement the Manfrotto Power Team, a fundamental pillar supporting the delivery of last year’s exceptional sales performance.

Two colleagues in the Japanese team, though, merit a special mention: Mr. Jun Teramura (Sales Manager for Yodobashi) who was able to close the year 26.4% over budget, increasing the number one account by 30.3% versus 2011 and Mr. Yuji Tominaga (Purchasing Manager).

In very difficult market conditions (tripods -1%, bags -17%), Manfrotto Distribution UK grew 17% on 2011 and more importantly gained 10% share in tripods and 7% in bags; a result achieved primarily by working differently and with a ton of passion!

Although not strictly in a commercial role, Mr Tominaga was able to work very closely with sales, product marketing and customer service, as necessary, to deliver the highest forecasting accuracy of all Imaging businesses, reaching almost 60%!

Congratulations and happy travels to Jun, Yuji and Chris. Pictures of their journey to come! Good luck to all for a successful 2013: new commercial stars to be awarded soon!

Anthony Yip, Brazil

Nick Tsang, Brazil

Chris Carr Gino Belmonte, Italy

Sarah Radisson, Brazil

Thomas Penet, Brazil

Yuji Tominaga Steven Faskowitz, Italy

Stanley Xu, Italy

Jun Teramura

NEWS FROM OUR

WORLD

Francesca Santacatterina

MD US Marketing Team

NATIONAL SALES PHOTOPLUS 2012 AND MARKETING

MEETING

The National Sales and Marketing Meeting US, last February, was a great success, involving about 60 people. The event was an important chance to talk about products, trends, competition, sales targets for 2013 and ….. to have FUN! The Manfrotto US team welcomed guests to the new office with open arms and with its own style “Olympic games”. We enjoyed basketball, golf and trivia shoots!

ITALY

Last October Manfrotto US was present at PhotoPlus, with a huge stand and the complete range of our products.

The PDN PhotoPlus International Conference and Expo is the largest Photography and Imaging show in North America, attended by over 24.000 professional photographers and enthusiasts. On that occasion, we announced the new 290 Carbon Fiber tripod models, L-brackets and panoramic heads. Manfrotto also showcased the new KLYP accessory for the iPhone 4/4S. “We are thrilled to debut innovative photography solutions that deliver versatility and quality at PhotoPlus” - said Jodi Palm, Category Manager - “Our new 290 Carbon Fiber tripod models, L-brackets and panoramic heads deliver the durability and lightweight packaging our customers want. Additionally, we’re excited to showcase the new KLYP, which helps easily transform mobile phone photography into professional-looking shots.”

Francesca Santacatterina

WELCOME TO THE

NEW OFFICES!

Manfrotto US moved to a new location last December. Less than 1 mile from the previous location, we are now settled down in an up to date, bright office with wonderful landscaping. The office is within the Mountainview Executive Park at 10 Mountainview Road, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. The building is almost 200k square feet and we occupy a suite on the top floor. In the next edition, you’ll see pictures from the Great Opening!!!

Samuele Perenzin

MANFROTTO SUPPORTS GOES LEAN Manfrotto Supports joins the CUOA LEAN ENTERPRISE CENTER, the main Italian reference for Lean Management, partner of the international renowned network, Lean Global Network Inc.

This partnership will allow our team to take part in all the lean thinking initiatives organized by the center, among which seminars directly run by companies to share best practice and to learn from different experiences. Within this project, the “Lean Six Sigma”: a training programme involving 10 colleagues from Quality, Industrialization, R&D and Lean Office, that will allow us to improve and optimize our processes and implement a more structured lean management system. A lot of topics to be covered during 2013 to operate more effectively and to improve the quality of our processes!

Gary Astill

FOCUS-ON-IMAGING

EXHIBITION 2013 Manfrotto Lighting attended the Focus-on-Imaging Exhibition in Birmingham UK between the 3rd-6th March as part of the Manfrotto stand. All the new products launched at Photokina 2012 were there, for professional and amateur photographers to view and ask questions about. A key feature of the stand was the Lastolite Stage area were 5 photographers gave 26 talks over the 4 days. Jim Marks, Bjorn Thomassen, Paul Rogers (Pellier Noir), Brian Worley (p4pictures) and John McRae attracted good crowds as they presented ‘how to’ demonstrations using a variety of the Lastolite products. Flavio Fiorio

MANFROTTO LIGHTING

LIVE WITH INFOR M3 In 2012 our IT function embarked on a really important project, involving the last “new entry” in our Division, Lastolite Ltd Uk, now Manfrotto Lighting: the integration of the Information Technology. Our colleagues from Coalville worked in close contact with the Italian IT team for about 7 months, until the go-live moment on 04th February 2013, 2 months before the estimated release! Infor M3 is now running in all the applicable functions: Finance & Accounting, Purchasing, Production, Planning, Sales and Warehouse. In addition, our UK colleagues can now access the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence system and the Microsoft Sharepoint platform. The overall project kept the IT team busy for more than 400 days. Collaboration between our two teams has been fantastic and has brought about the success of the project. A big thank you to Sean Henry who was always present and supportive and to the teams: Neil Martin, Paul Morley, Sarah Wardle, Michelle Bray, Rob Joyce, Stuart Page, Caroline Dennis, Andrew Minshall, Sajad Rahemtulla, Nigel Obrien, Chris Braddock, Lanfranco Tarabini, Fabio Galliano, Denis Sabbadin, Cristiano Caoduro, Alessio Marzo, Massimiliano Bonato, Federico Soster, Andrea Nardelli, Gioele Zanzico, Stefano Minella, Luca Zonta. Verity Woolnough

HERE IS THE NEW GROUP WEBSITE! Log on to www.vitecgroup.com and you will see the new, restyled Vitec Group website. The new site has been redesigned to clearly communicate who we are and what we do, with sections added to clearly define our product and service offering, explain our corporate responsibility efforts and provide a Group level focus on what working at Vitec is all about. As our primary focus is exceptional images, we have enhanced our photo and video gallery, allowing dynamic visuals of our products to play the main part in telling our story. There is a greater use of multimedia tools and interactive graphics to engage users and allow easier navigation. Two brand new sections cover the areas of Responsibility and People – core to the successful operation of the Group.

Christina Lei

HONG LION DANCE KONG FOR PROSPERITY Manfrotto Hong Kong celebrated the start of the Chinese New Year in the office with a Lion Dance event! On 22nd February, to usher in the year of the Snake, a “lion” visited the office and danced through it to bring good luck, fortune and happiness to the team and to the business for 2013. A combination of art, history and kung fu moves of the Chinese culture! And our Sales and Marketing team was able to catch the lucky lettuce torn apart and thrown back by the lion, starting off 2013 promisingly! Well done! And happy new Snake year to everyone!

Our Responsibility section explains our work on carbon reporting, helping the environment and our involvement in our local communities, all key topics that our stakeholders wish to learn about. The Working at Vitec section allows us to celebrate the talented individuals at Vitec and to reflect on why we are proud to be a part of the Group. As the new site reflects Vitec’s constantly evolving nature, we will focus on regularly updating areas which will share important news stories from around the Group, press releases, major Group events, people in action profiles, product gallery and video library. The new features will provide a real-time representation of Vitec’s development. We hope you like the new look website!

PRODUCT

HIGHLIGHTS AND THE Red Dot

KATA Inside Out 300UL

GOES TO… Maria Berkovich

Recent news from the Red Dot Awards: Manfrotto Bags has won the Red Dot for “Product Design”. This year the jury, made up of some of the most respected figures in international design, has once again confirmed its appreciation of our innovation, know-how and the design quality of our products. Manfrotto Bags has succeeded against extremely ambitious competitors. This year, 1,865 manufacturers, designers and architects from 54 countries were hoping to receive the coveted Red Dot quality seal with their products and projects. The largest Red Dot jury of all times had to test, discuss and evaluate 4,662 items - live and on site. Only the best products were bestowed with the coveted award for aesthetic forms and lasting trends.

The winning products are: KATA Inside Out 300UL (pro): A revolutionary solution. On the one hand it’s a medium size backpack from KATA’s Ultralight collection, designed to carry basic photography gear with numerous inner pockets for various accessories. On the other hand just by unhooking the front cover and turning the bag inside out, the bag quickly becomes a large outdoor backpack, providing 40% more space. KATA Access H-18PL (pro): Designed to do precisely that: it is primarily a large “mega-holster” fit for a DSLR and up to 3 different lenses. By simply connecting special shoulder straps and padding through the back loops, the bag is transformed into a professional photography backpack. Manfrotto Backpack 50 (pro): Top-of-the-line photo bag. Thanks to 3D foam and spatial padding it is the most protective photo backpack in the market. Its front flap features a quick access option from the top while the rest of equipment stays protected, or full frontal access to all of the gear.

KATA Access H-18PL

The three products are to be launched in June 2013! The prize-winners will be officially announced at the Red Dot gala in the Opera House in Essen, Germany, on 1st July 2013.

Manfrotto Backpack 50

Congratulations to the team for the great results! Shanaray Langdon

THE CONTINUING EVOLUTION OF SHOP-IN-SHOP INSTALLATIONS We continue to focus on special shop-in-shop installations in prime locations which include recent important openings in the USA, France and Italy. Through in-store space personalization we continue to reinforce our brands’ identity and philosophy creating attractiveness. Here are a few examples of recent in-store implementations:

Digitphoto - Metz (France)

New Free Photo - Brescia (Italy)

Samy’s - Los Angeles (USA)

Chris Latham

MAJOR TRENDS AT

CES 2013

Market factors Renzo Rizzo

Changing our perspective to reach new consumer In the past few years the imaging market has undergone some major changes that impact the way we do business - from the products and the channels we sell them through, to the language we use to communicate them. The first change is the sheer increase in the number of interchangeable lens cameras that sell every year: in 2012 three times more interchangeable lens cameras were sold than in 2006. As penetration of these cameras increase the ownership is changing too, for perspective, in the US – our biggest market – one third of the owners are now between 18 and 24 years old. These new “photographers” are much less knowledgeable than those who used to buy digital reflex cameras only 6 years ago, they often don’t know what tripods are for, are less inclined to formal learning than the older buyers, and most of their shopping and information gathering is done through the web. The other major change is the advent of the smartphones, which thanks to their increasingly high pixel sensors are not only rapidly replacing the digital compact cameras but also putting a fairly good quality camera in the pockets of hundreds of millions of new consumers every year (40% of smartphones have more that 5 Megapixels, 17% have high definition video). While this is bad for the makers and the sellers of digital compact cameras and creating difficulty for many of our retail customers, it is exponentially increasing the number of people who will start their imaging journey as well as the sheer number of pictures and videos created and shared every year.

What are the key implications for us? There are essentially three strategic directions that guide our strategy for 2013 and beyond. First, we must step up the number of products for those who start their imaging journey today, first with smartphones and then moving to the new category of easy to use interchangeable lens cameras like the “mirrorless”. We must develop supports, lights, bags – as well as entirely new products and services that attract these new consumers to make our brand a familiar name early on in their imaging journey. Second we must continue to come up with new solutions for the many consumers and “prosumers” that will move on in their imaging journey from entry level to the more sophisticated DSLR and video cameras. In fact the more people who start their imaging journey, albeit from simple products for smartphones, the more will continue their journey further, accompanied by our brands. Third, the way we communicate and sell has to become much more compelling and creative, to attract the users who are less interested in technical language but still fascinated by the world of imaging. Communication has to be focused especially on the web and in the store to make browsing intuitive and engaging, and purchasing as easy as possible. If we meet these challenges, our passionate efforts will meet people’s increasing love for photography and video, assuring the continuing success of our business.

The 2013 International CES, which took place in Las Vegas from 8th to 11th January, was the largest in the show’s 45year history, with 20,000 new products and more than 150,000 attendees. CES always shows a huge amount of brand new technology, amazing gadgets, accessories and a lot of very weird inventions. It’s a great way to get an idea of what direction technology is heading in and what the big trends are going to be. These observations help us in developing our product range so that it complements or uses these technology trends. CES 2013 had a number of major trends. One of the most interesting for the imaging industry was ‘device integration’ - using one device to work with another by sharing content, controlling it remotely or any other sort of live connection. This trend could have a huge impact on the way people interact with their cameras for example seeing a live view from your camera on your tablet or smartphone. There were a number of other trends including a focus on colour combinations from a number of camera manufacturers, branching away from the traditional silver and black. Pentax in particular might have gone a bit overboard! The show also saw LEDs start to emerge in the consumer market as an accessory to complement still photography and videography. There were a number of new products from companies such as Energizer and Kodak as well as smaller competitors. We are already working to develop exciting new products to take advantage of these trends! Coming soon…

Nicola Faccini

OUTDOOR FAIR ISPO 2013 ISPO is considered the leading international sports business fair. Every year more than 2,000 exhibitors present their latest products from the segments of Outdoor, Ski, Action and Performance Sports at ISPO MUNICH to over 80,000 visitors.

OUTDOORS IS A COLOURFUL WORLD: from the most technical accessories to skis that are now products of design, the many colours are, lively and bright and distinguish all the products of the outdoor world;

The 2013 edition was the largest ISPO MUNICH ever.

THE OUTDOOR WORLD BELONGS LARGELY TO THE MILLENNIALS: a new target we want to hit more and more with our future products.

Being a multi-segment trade show, the event also offers its participants an opportunity to discover discipline-overlapping synergy and cross-selling potential, as well as to recognize new segments and trends in advance. We wanted to participate because the world of the outdoors and the world of imaging are strictly connected. When people have outdoor experiences, from the simplest to the wildest ones, they want to immortalize and share the experience. It was important to participate in order to gain an insight into the availability of imaging devices and supports in that market. It has helped us to understand the language that is used more to address these consumers both in terms of product finishing and of communication tools. Trends from the outdoor market: SELFSHOOTING IS A PAIN TO BE SOLVED: when performing outdoor activities, people want to record themselves, above all if the activities are particularly “wild” and worth being recorded. GoPro is partially solving this but new ways of including the “performer” are being found by new companies;

Stay tuned for more info!

MANFROTTO SCHOOL OF XCELLENCE

SHOOT AND SHARE PROGRAMME Shoot and Share Programme picks up the pace again with several photography courses for all, from basic to advanced levels. For the moment the programme is open to our Italian colleagues; relatives and friends are welcome so feel free to involve them in this great experience with our famous photographers! Highlights of this year’s programme include a seminar with FujiFilm Italy to learn about their product range; the seminar “Visually speaking” with David DuChemin, outdoor training in Verona and Venice with Yorick Photography and more and more seminars covering a wide range of topics, to develop your skills! We look forward to having you there with us! Send an email to gabriella.costa@manfrotto.com, after getting your line manager’s approval and copying him/her in the email!

Giorgio Boscaro

JOHN SEXTON: THE EMOTION OF B&W PHOTOGRAPHY On 22nd January the wind of the Yosemite National Park blew into offices in Cassola. Thrilling pictures made us breathe and feel the breeze blowing across the extraordinary granite peaks, the waterfalls, the limpid waters of the streams and the giant sequoias photographed by John Sexton, pupil of the legendary Ansel Adams. We were honoured and excited to meet John Sexton, one of the greatest American photographers. John was born in California in 1953 and, after graduating with a degree in photography at Cypress College, he received his degree in art at Chapman University. One day, in the early 1970’s, while visiting an exhibition of black & white photographs he experienced a great emotional response, and realized Black and white portrait how much he loved the magic of © 2006 Anne Larsen. photography. Since then photography All rights reserved has become the leitmotif of his life. He served as photographic assistant to Ansel Adams for a number of years. And this is what he shared with us: his great experience with the American landscape photographer, re-living the days spent taking pictures in the marvellous Yosemite Valley and the American West. Sexton’s pictures have been published in numerous magazines including Time, Life, American Photo, Backpacker, Photo Techniques, Popular Photography, Zoom and Outdoor Photographer. We would like to thank John for the time spent, and the passion he shared, with us. We cannot hide our pride of having contributed, with our tripods, to the making of these spectacular photographs. Black Oak, Fallen Branches, Yosemite Valley, California ©1984 John Sexton. All rights reserved

Silvia Luison

MANFROTTO

IMAGINE MORE Have a look at our Manfrotto Imagine More website, that has been updated with fresh new articles: www.manfrottoimaginemore.com Every month at each of Manfrotto’s local branches (Italy, UK, Germany, USA, China, Japan and France), top quality bloggers will share their experiences with the readers of the Imagine More website, showcasing themes of their expertise, including travel, fashion, food, animals, among others that fit the company vision. Moreover, in order to spread this project on a global scale, all contents are translated into English. This will create an easy platform to share experiences, ideas, pictures and interests, and also to create a dialogue within an international community. This innovative website caters to a younger and creative network, boosting user interaction and engagement. Passions and pictures are to be the biggest focus of Imagine More website, which serves as a place where people can find inspiration. But we have other important news to share with you and we cannot contain our excitement any longer! We are happy to unveil our new accounts on Instagram and Pinterest, two social platforms where we collect and share what inspires you: Manfrotto Instagram: www.instagram.com/manfrottoimaginemore Manfrotto Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/manfrottopins

Our presence in these 2 social networks will surely stimulate interaction with people that use our products and are passionate about photography, making them feel part of a big community. Instagram with its 30 million accounts and Pinterest, that also reaches over 11 million visits each week, are a great opportunity for Manfrotto to take part in the thriving community of the so-called social recorders, who increasingly communicate online through pictures! These accounts are just the beginning. We are full of ideas on what we would like to create next. So stay tuned and stay connected to manfrottoimaginemore. com. Join the team. Get inspired!

recent EVENTS

Gabriella Costa

recent EVENTS

Israel Weisser won the October contest with the picture “The Pool of the Arches” The picture was taken in Ramle, Israel, and shows an underground water cistern built in 789 AD to provide Ramle with a steady supply of water.

Fabio Galliano won the November contest with the picture “I sentieri del Cansiglio”, taken while walking through the Cansiglio Forest, in the North-East of Italy.

Giuseppe Bizzotto won the December contest with the picture “Patagonia”, a fantastic shot taken during his amazing holiday!

WINNER OF THE YEAR 2012

2013 CONTEST

We are pleased to announce that the 2012 contest was won by Matt Bailey, with his picture “Tracks”, taken on a Sunday morning near his house in Coalville!

Our exciting monthly photo contest goes on for the whole of 2013! Be creative and original and submit your best picture! As in the past, a “Picture of the Year” will be selected from the “Picture of the Month” winners. 1st place wins a FujiFilm X10 Camera, our new BeFree Tripod and the BRIO 30 Sling Black Bag from the Manfrotto Stile Plus Collection! SHARE YOUR IMAGINATION WITH US! And here is the first winner for 2013!

Harry De Zitter selected this picture as the best one! Not only Matt but all the winners from the 2012 contest had the pleasure of seeing their shots featured in the 2013 Manfrotto desk calendar, handed out in all our offices around the world! Each month shows its winning “Picture” creating a colourful display of our employees imagination and talent! Browse the best entries from all rounds of the competition on our intranet under the Marketing Communications Section!

Nick Tsang won the February “Picture of the Month” with the picture “Sunset”. The picture was taken during a bird watching event organized by MD Hong Kong. Nick’s comment “We shared a very fruitful shooting day with end-users and at the end of the day, we were very lucky to enjoy a fantastic sunset. Birds were ready to rest on the tops of the trees. We were all very excited about it.”

NEWS

IMAGING HQ AND SLOW FOOD TOGETHER FOR EDUCATION Francesca Sandonà

Imagine a child planting a seed in a school garden, wait for it to grow through the soil and learn, handson, the wonder of nature and the importance of fresh food. This is what Imaging HQ embarked on, sponsoring a Slow Food Italy project, ORTO IN CONDOTTA, vegetable gardens planted in primary schools as tools for environmental and food education. We all know that eating well means living well. Healthy food in our diet benefits our energy, and helps us live a longer and happier life. So, while continuing to develop our Good3 programme for our employees, why not promote healthy habits to our children too, teaching them how to eat sensibly as they grow older and become more independent? The project started in 2010 and ended in 2012, involving 19 schools in the area of Bassano del Grappa and reaching about 2000 children aged 3 to 11, their teachers, parents and grandparents! Children were involved in a lot of activities: from sensory and food education to learn how to plant and look after the garden to environmental education to learn about plants and how these can help us and the world, to cultural and local heritage education to discover the value of traditional gardening and learn about local products, recipes and flavours. Classes in Mussolente raised silkworms and earthworms to learn about insect life cycles and to overcome their fears of insects and of animals in general. Another school invented the “Fairy Garden” to teach children about vegetables and fruits through fairy tales: “Snow white” for apples, “Cinderella” for pumpkins, “The Princess and the Pea” for peas. All formed a veritable “life school” not only for children but for all those involved! Visit www.slowfood.it/educazione for more info. Martina Tapparello, Romano Contin, Giampietro Zancanaro

Francesca Sandonà

Marco Scippa

2013 MANFROTTO

VITEC SHOPPING CARD

EXPOLINK

As part of People Focus activities, a new Vitec Shopping Card was designed and handed out to our Italian employees last December.

The 18th edition of Manfrotto Winter Challenge took place on 16th March on the snow of Passo Brocon, Ski Lagorai, the ideal place to have fun in a relaxing environment!

Not only a new look, charming card but an updated list of the local retailers involved - more than 100 in the food, drink, travel, clothing, sport and other sectors - where our employees can benefit from special prices!

As a Company, we want to guarantee a healthy, transparent and ethical environment. Employees too play a key role: ethical behaviour is a shared responsibility and a joint effort.

WINTER CHALLENGE

An enjoyable day in a superb winter location with races, families, music and … good food! From the snowshoe walk and the photo of the day contest to the skiing and snowboard race that involved adults and children on a challenging and exciting slope, to the après-ski and the awards ceremony: a wonderful opportunity to meet, have fun and share lively moments with colleagues!

A dynamic system, our employees can contribute to by recommending their favourite retailers, helping us to increase the list and improve the quality our services! We are now exploring ways to extend the initiative worldwide.

Alison Hallett

MANFROTTO LIGHTING

FOR THE COMMUNITY

In 2012 Manfrotto Lighting maintained its long-term link with 2 charities strongly backed by the employees - WaterAid (www.wateraid.org/uk) and Reaching the Unreached (www.rtu.org.uk) confirming its long-standing commitment to the community. Through the support to WaterAid, founded in 1981, Manfrotto Lighting has been helping some of the world’s poorest people (primarily in Africa, India and Pakistan) gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, the very things we all sometimes take for granted! Reaching the Unreached is based in India. The organisation works to help the poorest to have a decent life, by promoting projects involving water, food, medicine and education. Having sourced some of our products from India over the past 28 years, Manfrotto Lighting has been really pleased to continue to support the charity in endeavouring to achieve those aims through various projects. Thanks to all our employees for having supported them for several years! Great job!

If you know about any policy violations or have matters and concerns about the workplace, turn to your HR to ask for help and advice. Maintaining good ethics is a key responsibility for the HR department and any action needed will be taken confidentially. If you then feel uncomfortable in raising concerns internally and you fear reprisals, you can report externally. In some countries, like Italy, Trade Unions can be the proper link between you and the company. Moreover, to facilitate reporting, Vitec Group operates an anonymous Whistleblowing Service through an independent third party: Expolink (www.expolink.co.uk) A quick and anonymous tool to pass on info you may have with regard to corruption, bribery, unfair treatment or other violations of our Code. You can call Expolink free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You should all have received an “introduction letter” with the hotline number for your country. If not, please ask your HR representatives for it. Reporting behaviour that is not in line with our polices is an important task for each of us. Safeguard yourself and our organization!

CLICK ME

Name & Surname: Anthony Pak

Name & Surname: Robert Feliciano From: Originally, just outside of Philadelphia, now North New Jersey

From: Bergen County

Your hobbies: I enjoy soccer (Juventus, Chelsea and NY Red Bulls), cigars, and I am just getting into photography Do you like photography? What are your favourite subjects: Yes. I am still learning, but I enjoy candid shots of people and street photography Your role: Business Development Representative MDUS With the Company since: September 2012

How was your first day at work like? Very warm and welcoming. Since I do not come from a photo background, everybody was more than friendly and willing to answer my questions, no matter how basic Sum up your work experience here in one word: Dynamic

A funny anecdote you experienced here and you want to share with us: When I first started, I was lost for words and called a monopod a “camera stick” to Anthony Pak and to this day he still jokes with me about it. What you like most about your job: I love the interaction with such diverse groups of people.

What you like least about your job: I would like to travel a bit more, but then again that is not within the scope of my role here.

An important thing you have learnt here: I never realized how big the photo business is. I also have gained a lot of respect for photographers as artists. What would you change in your life if you could go back in time: I would have taken more pictures…

And what would you not change: I got married and started a family young. It is the best thing I have ever done, and I wouldn’t trade my family for anything Your biggest wish in your life: To live a long and full life surrounded by family and friends.

Your hobbies: I enjoy Photography and the Arts in general Do you like photography? What are your favourite subjects: Yes. I graduated from Parsons School of Design and was a Photographer by trade, owning and operating a commercial photography studio in NYC for many years. My main hobby now is photographing my 8-year-old son playing soccer.

Your role: Business Development Representative MDUS With the Company since: May 2011 How was your first day at work like? Everyone has been very nice and willing to out of their way to help. There is a sense of family here; we look out for one another Sum up your work experience here in one word: Challenging

A funny anecdote you experienced here and you want to share with us: My experiences here with my co-workers have always been a positive one, both in and out of the office What you like most about your job: I love the interaction with my accounts. I enjoy the fact I deal with people outside of my region; I learn something new every day What you like least about your job: There is nothing negative to say about my position, I enjoy what I do

An important thing you have learnt here: It was surprising to see how a small group of people can service the entire country so efficiently

What would you change in your life if you could go back in time: That’s a bit difficult to answer in a couple of sentences…one thing for sure is, I would have never picked up a cigarette! And what would you not change: I have an 8-year-old son; I wouldn’t do anything to change that fact…

Your biggest wish in your life: My biggest wish in life would be that my son never suffers nor wants…my son’s happiness and well-being is my main focus in life.

WELCOME!

A warm welcome to our new colleagues:

Michael Watson Customer Service Representative (MD US)

Andrea Marcon Research Engineer (Manfrotto Supports)

Carlos Janicas Account Management Analyst (MD France)

Dennis Pan Buyer Textile (Divisional Operations, China)

Filippo Gasparini Buyer (Divisional Operations)

Francesca Zanette Brand Manager Lighting Supports (Manfrotto Lighting, Italy)

Isabella Bedin E-Commerce Manager (Divisional Marketing)

Johnson Wu Finance & Administration Manager (MD Shanghai)

Linda Hodgman Executive Administrative Assistant (MD US)

Massimo Roncato Powder Coating Supervisor (Manfrotto Supports)

Matteo Sopranzetti Regional Planner Americas (Divisional Operations)

Paola Treccani Key Account Manager CE (MD Italy)

Ryan May Customer Service Representative (MD US)

Robert Feliciano Business Development Representative (MD US)

Tetsuya Ohtzuka Category Manager Supports (MD Japan)

Yuko Yamagata Category Manager Bags (MD Japan)

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