Home Appliances PROFILE: BERTAZZONI


‘Our products are desirable and the retailer can make money’


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Italian appliance brand Bertazzoni’s split from distributor GDHA left many debating its motives. Tim Wallace asks CEO Paolo Bertazzoni and UK and Eire managing director Maurizio Severgnini why changing its route to market was necessary and whether the move is paying dividends


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Bertazzoni tells me. “There’s a shared culture. Some of our engineers have worked in the Ferrari factory – it’s only 40km from here. They brought with them part of that experience. We all know about Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Ducati… it’s a land of engineering.” The relationship even goes as far as agreeing a


he origins of Italian kitchen appliance


manufacturer Bertazzoni go back to the 19th century when founder, Francesco Bertazzoni, was on a draughty train through the Alps and noticed wood-burning stoves were being used to keep passengers warm.


He seized on the idea, and by 1909 his sons had built their own factory in Guastalla, near Parma, eventually


going into mass production using


techniques first seen in the motor industry. The company has come a long way since then,


now producing not just full-sized cooking ranges but built-in wall ovens, gas, electric and induction hobs, hoods, fridges and dishwashers. Last May, it also took the bold move of ending its distribution agreement with GDHA and setting up a permanent UK subsidiary in the Wirral.


But as I sit down to chat with chief executive Paolo Bertazzoni and UK and Eire managing director Maurizio Severgnini, it’s those continued links with the automotive industry that the company particularly prides itself on. “Cars are part of our tradition in this part of Italy,” Mr


deal to use a superior type of paint normally only used on Italian cars. “We were not happy with the quality of the kitchen industry standards,” Mr Bertazzoni reveals. “The result was a slight orange peel effect, but the automotive paint was giving us a much better result.”


My meeting comes as the pair develop ambitious plans for the UK, despite continued uncertainty over Brexit. They’re also happy to explain the reasons behind their split from GDHA and why they believe the Bertazzoni brand has a bright future in the UK…


Maurizio Severgnini: In the past three years, the brand has performed reasonably well, but we weren’t able to achieve its full potential in the UK. So we took the strategic decision to open a UK subsidiary. My appointment as MD, last May, coincided with that. We’ve also opened subsidiaries in France, the Nordics and the Netherlands.


Q: Did you feel like a small fish in a large pond with GDHA? PB: Yes, certainly, being two manufacturing companies with different history and positioning. We felt we had to go upmarket to stay on a certain level of price, positioning and customer. It wasn’t easy for us to convey our strategy to them.


Q: What impact is the decision having? MS: We now have an HQ and showroom in the Wirral, and our own team that can directly service the market. And, most importantly, we are now having direct conversations with our trade partners and consumers.


The numbers for us in the UK still have room


Q: Why did Bertazzoni set up its own UK subsidiary?


Paolo Bertazzoni: We had a good relationship with GDHA, but we needed to align the strategies of the two companies and it was not easy. We want to come closer to the end user. It’s very important for us to achieve that by having direct access to the market.


to grow, but some of the dealers who’ve come on board with direct accounts have delivered, in a few months, the same turnover that they did in the whole of last year. It’s proof that our strategy is the right way forward.


Q: Are you hoping to grow your UK retail network? MS: We already have around 80 dealers with direct


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