064 WHAT'S THE STORY FAST SHIFTING
Daniele Fiesoli
“We Perceive Our Clients as Partners” Daniele Fiesoli is the owner of WoolGroup, an Italian corporation that manufactures and distributes the brands Wool & Co and Daniele Fiesoli. As a sport enthusiast and optimist, he loves making the impossible possible. He sat down with style in progress to discuss the strengths of “Made in Italy” and the advantages of being a family business. Interview: Kay Alexander Plonka. Photos: Daniele Fiesoli
The collection by Daniele Fiesoli shows what you can do with knitwear.
In Italy, there are fashion businesses - and even entire regions - that are at rock bottom in terms of the economy. Then there are companies - like yours - that have a positive economic outlook and are getting ever stronger. What makes the difference?
Professionalism is certainly a key factor in this respect, but that’s not enough to be successful. Today, a company needs to be creative in all departments. The reason why we are still experiencing growth is that we are a stable and reliable business. I prefer to perceive our clients as partners, not as mere numbers. How did you manage to react better than others to the crisis and its challenges?
Everything changes very quickly in our industry. What is right this season can be completely wrong in the next season. One must always be prepared to change one’s views, thoughts, and strategies without losing 416 style in progress
product coherence. We need to surprise our customers, but also convey a feeling of safety and solidity. Our inherent curiosity ensures that we continue looking for the right approach, while passion inspires us to experiment. Last but not least, our corporate structure allows us to remain flexible. We keep on questioning what we do.
the fashion business are no longer manufacturers, but mere converters. We still design and manufacture in-house, which is the reason why we can deliver fashionable knitwear of great quality at reasonable prices.
Which customer need played into your hands during this period?
How does your company’s investment programme shape up these days? Are you currently in an investment cycle and - if so - which departments of your business are you investing in?
Any customer who is not driven by the price and is willing to pay a certain price for quality… We do not merely supply fabrics. We offer our retailers a professional distribution model, a guaranteed margin of 2.8, B2B full-service, on-time deliveries, and the certainty of always offering products that allow our customers to satisfy the consumers. All these things sound like they should be taken for granted, but - believe me - they are not self-evident. Many of our competitors in
As a matter of fact, we need to invest due to our continuous revenue increase. However, it is always difficult to create budgets for all the investments we would like to make. Currently, our focus is on communication and the integration of our IT department. We strive to be as closely connected with our business partners as possible. Today, apps and the Internet offer huge opportunities to nurture relationships. Furthermore, we continue to invest in our production
