Alessandra Guffanti’s model of a great business
Internationalization, Innovation, Training and Sustainability
Alessandra Guffanti, president of the group Fashion System Italy Youth and Vice President of Assolombardia Youth Group with an international mention, is a professional in the fashion sector. Her family has been involved in fashion since 1989, when her father Gianfranco launched the brand Guffanti Concept. The latter became a leader in international distribution, with a 2016 turnover of 9 million euros, 45% made abroad.
Guffanti Concept helps company with production, communication and distribution both in Italy and abroad. The company has a multicultural team made of people from Russia, Asia, the Muslim world and Italy of course.
Mrs Guffanti has several times highlighted the need to increase the grade of internationalisation of Italian companies, supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The Italian clothing sector is a great example of international success: it has performed very well thanks to the sells abroad, conversely to the textile sector having a more national profile.
Furthermore, the will to innovate seems a recurrent characteristic of Italian companies. In fact, between 2012-2014, 44.6% of Italian SMEs have carried out activities devoted to innovations. On this subject, Mrs Guffanti has stressed the need for Italian businesses to spend time with "technological players". Events like Decoded Fashion of E-pitti or the meetings organized by Fashion Megazine on e-commerce are excellent platforms to learn best practices and exchange know-how.
Training and innovation stand out as two keywords for Italian SMEs in order to achieve a fruitful business strategy. Mrs Guffanti has also focused on training, quoting the German example as a great one, where the school and job are extremely interconnected, allowing the individual to receive a complete training, starting from school. The German model knows a very low unemployment rate and provides the individual with the right skills to succeed in the job market. Lastly, the ideal company should look environment and be sustainable for future generations.
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