Audi 2009 Annual Report Download - page 54

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world that little bit better. Luxury to-
day is always green. For Perrone as
well: “Of course, we use only the best
raw materials. And we stand by our
responsibility as an employer which
has never outsourced even a fraction
of its production.”
Perrone and Stadler are now on the
second floor. Here, buyers from all
over the world are ordering Brioni’s
Fall/Winter Men’s Collection
2010/11. Exceptionally well-attired
men and women in dark clothes are
having lively conversations at large,
black tables among fabrics, laptops
and coffee mugs. A group of five men
standing in a corner are intently
handling a piece of black fabric. “An
umbrella cover; take a look,” says
the Brioni CEO, removing a men’s
umbrella from a rack. “We’ll launch
these in the fall. Each one made by
hand; the handles are made of silver
and no two are alike. That’s why
we’ll put serial numbers on the
umbrellas.”
These additions to Brioni’s collection
are quite new. The company added
accessories, shoes and perfumes only
relatively recently. “It’s part of our
philosophy,” explains Andrea Perrone.
“We always prioritize craft, quality
and leadership. We may arrive later,
but everything we do, we do well!”
That is why Brioni only produces in
Italy. It also explains the company’s
very own tailoring school in Penne,
in the Abruzzi region of Italy. This is
home to the brand’s production
facilities and family.
New luxury and global markets
notwithstanding, “we no longer
speak of luxury at Brioni,” says An-
drea Perrone, “but rather excellence.
Luxury is simply an outward display,
nothing more. Excellence, conversely,
focuses inward. Excellence is a matter
of inner qualities, historic values and
current performance. Excellence af-
fects your staff – very directly. Your
tailors, your store managers, your
designers and even your account-
ants.” Rupert Stadler agrees: “If you
make this outlook a cornerstone of
your organization, you will become
successful. It doesn’t matter if you
make cars or suits. Because this
excellence aims at the customer’s
emotional experience with regard to
a product or service, and because in
this day and age, we should cater to
customers their whole lives, i.e. not
in product cycles but in so-called cus-
tomer life cycles, it is increasingly
becoming a crucial element in all sec-
tors and for all successful companies
to understand, enthuse and retain
customers,” explains Rupert Stadler.
Stadler and Perrone are now on the
ground floor, in the Bespoke Studio,
where the measurements of our
world’s leaders and great minds are
taken. At this moment, Brioni’s mas-
ter tailor Simone Laudi is calmly
sewing the seam of a pair of suit
pants. The Audi boss gazes across
the studio. The shelves are full of cut-
tings and fabrics. There are names on
most boxes. “Our stores stock be-
tween 300 and 400 different articles
of clothing every season,” explains
Perrone. “Every one of those is avail-
able in standard sizes as ready-to-
wear items. Or you can have any one
of them tailored to fit and altered
completely in accordance with your
wishes.” Stadler asks Brioni whether
he uses lasers to take measurements.
Perrone says no and laughs. “Simone
Laudi is our laser,” he says, referring
to his tailor, who cannot help but
grin. “Signore Laudi was one of the
first graduates of our school for mas-
ter tailors. He knows how to operate
a Smartphone and knows how close
he is allowed to get to a king or Arab
sheik. Some technologies merely
make fabrics and suits more precise,
but not better,” explains Perrone.
“Because all of our production is per-
formed by hand, we can use the most
delicate fabrics – which would be far
too stressed by the competition’s
automated production processes and
would ultimately tear. Every cus-
tomer can feel this difference on their
skin.” “How often must measure-
ments be taken?” asks Stadler.
“A made-to-measure suit generally
needs to be fitted three or four
times,” replies Perrone, as the stu-
dio’s door opens and another tailor
enters. Perrone introduces Luigi
Atzeni, who manages a store in Sar-
dinia, on the Costa Smeralda – where
Europe’s business elite, Formula One
VIPs and royalty spend their vaca-
tions. Atzeni’s store is closed from
October through Easter. He fills his
winters with fittings. He tells us that
he is to fly to Berlin the next day –
there in the morning and back that
evening. While in Berlin, he will meet
with board members and a govern-
ment official.
“We’ll open a store in Düsseldorf this
fall. You’ll visit us then at the latest
to get fitted, right?” says Andrea Per-
rone. Stadler smiles and replies: “And
next week I’ll make sure you get an
R8 for a few days to test drive.”
Business journalist Ralf Grauel was the
founding editor of brand eins; he is now
freelance.
“
It is increasingly becoming a crucial element for all
successful companies to understand, delight and
retain customers.”
Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG