The Business Network Can a marketplace manage

BASIC NET THE BUSINESS NETWORK

The fact that an Italian group has been a pioneer in digitisation since the mid-1990s may be surprising. But for Marco Boglione, the founder and chairman of BasicNet Group from Torino, it has always seemed logical to wring the greatest possible benefit from technology. Now the family business, which owns brands such as Kappa, K-Way, Superga, and Sebago, is considering opening the marketplace previously reserved for licensees, where producers and distributors interact on a global scale, for other brands. Text: Kay Alexander Plonka. Photos: Basic Studios

He has created an ideal ecosystem for cult brands: Marco Boglione, who had the courage to take over the insolvent company he had worked for in 1994. He got BasicNet going again by focusing on football merchandise. The next step was truly unique. The international expansion of the Kappa brand took place in the digital sphere right from the offset. Boglione created a modular network of more than 300 companies, all connected via a data exchange platform. He used the same system when BasicNet acquired the French brand K-Way in 2004. Three years later, Superga came into the fold. In 2017, BasicNet bought the license for Sebago from US group Wolverine.

FELLOWSHIP

The strength of BasicNet is based on community spirit and the idea of effective industrialisation of processes. “We have connected many smaller companies, thus multiplying the synergy effect. All important information, trademark rights, and designs come from Torino. The audited production sites then implement the needs of worldwide distributers in direct consultation. We guarantee smooth production and financing processes in exchange for a service fee of 30 percent,” Boglione explains. Between 2007 and 2017, the annual turnover of BasicNet Group, which collaborates with more than 120 distribution partners on all five continents, rose from 275 to 541 million Euros. Bernhard Aschauer’s CMH - Consulting, Management und Handel GmbH represents Superga,

Marco Boglione, the founder and chairman of BasicNet, has created a B2B platform that is a highly efficient system for production and distribution on a license basis.

K-Way, and Sebago in Germany and Austria. Kappa Deutschland GmbH is managed by Cornelia and Peter Schmidt.

SCALING

“Our real-time based web business system makes scaling particularly simple and allows complete online management of all phases of the production process. In order to remain up-to-date, we are constantly developing the system further and implementing the best IT technologies available,” Boglione says and adds: “Now we’re considering opening up the system to external brands. It’s a highly effective software that is mature and has been fully functional for years. Thus, the digitisation of all processes is possible without major investment.”

A sportswear icon that is en route to becoming the “next hot thing” thanks to BasicNet’s brand resuscitation skills: Kappa benefits from the current logo mania.

Italian design icons: Superga 2750 and Fiat 500.

BASIC NET THE RESURRECTION LICENSE

Lorenzo Boglione, the Vice President of Sales at BasicNet Group, reveals what it takes to revive a brand successfully.

BasicNet has acquired diminishing brands and breathed new life into them. What’s the secret?

There’s no secret. Our company has two different approaches. One follows algorithms and the rules of the market. It’s all about straightforwardness and punctuality, like a high-speed train. The second approach is the exact opposite. It focuses on soft skills and sensitivity, the feeling for the brand and offering the right products at the right time. My father has an extraordinary instinct for it. We don’t introduce a collection and its products to the market until they are one hundred percent satisfactory.

What are the criteria you look for in brands that you acquire?

It requires passion, willingness to invest, and firm belief to be able to rebuild a brand. Ultimately, we only buy name rights. When we choose a brand, we are not guided by business plans, EBIT data, or turnover speculations. We study the history, heritage, and potential of the products very carefully. With the exception of Sebago, all the brands we bought were actually bankrupt. In the case of Sebago, we were convinced by the talks we held with the former owner. Once we owned the brand, we reactivated the original production facilities.

License models often ruin or dilute a brand’s image. How does your strategy differ?

Brands are like beautiful vintage cars. One cherishes them, cares for them, and enjoys them. One doesn’t treat a genuine brand like a rental car that is returned after use.

Lorenzo Boglione is the Vice President of Sales at BasicNet.

Loft offices, showrooms, and a rooftop garden have been set up on the roof of the historic factory buildings.

THE BASIS OF SUCCESS

The history of the companies from which BasicNet has emerged dates back to 1916. It features a romantic love story and a sock factory destroyed in the Second World War. BasicNet has been true to its heritage, as is proven by the fact that much of the company’s headquarters is historic in nature. The first manufacturing facility, a former stable building dating from 1860, is now a restaurant and the preferred lunch destination for employees. The former factory halls now serve as showrooms, offices, film and photo studios, a factory outlet, a cafeteria, and a fitness studio. The premises include a bank branch, a multi-storey car park, a cleaning service, and a mini-mart. www.basic.net