Francesca Rapisardi intervened at the microphones of the New Yorker in the podcast Portraits of Claudio Brachino, telling a personal and professional path that crosses continents, cultures and business models.
Its profile immediately emerges as that of a global manager, able to move naturally between different experiences and transform them into an entrepreneurial vision. «I am 37 years old, I was born in Milan and at 17 years old I moved to Vancouver, Canada, where I attended a year of high school», he tells, retracing his path started very soon outside Italy.
A path made of stages that helped build an international mentality. “I returned to Italy to complete my studies and then left for a year of backpacking in Australia, with three months in New Zealand and three more in China,” he explains, underlining how the trip was a decisive training component.
Also during the university years, when he studied Foreign Languages and Literatures in Milan, Rapisardi maintained an active bridge with abroad, especially with Ireland: “Every summer I worked in Dublin at the Guinness Storehouse. After four years back and forth, I ended the university, I finally moved to Ireland”.
It is in Ireland that it takes shape its entry into the world of retail and shopfitting, a completely new area. “I have learned everything about the furniture of the shops and the experience in-store”. Then the meeting that marks a turning point: “I met the company before it became Pardgroup, when it was still a small agency. He was a supplier of the Irish company I worked for. In 2015, we decided to take a path together.”.
Since then, growth has been exponential. “When I entered, we billed about 14 million dollars, last year we closed at 140 million. We opened eleven branches in the world, built directly by us partners, taking care of everything, from offices to local teams. It was a real work of direct entrepreneurship, in very different cultural and linguistic contexts”.
Today Pardgroup is a structured global reality, with a capillary presence between Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States. “Dublin is our international headquarters, then there are the offices of London, Madrid, Italy and Switzerland”, explains, listing a network that also includes Dubai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen (which will be transferred shortly to Shanghai) and New York.
The heart of activity is what defines “retailtainment”: “We create experiences at the points of sale. We also manage staff for product promotion. We have our factories, called Yellow Factory, and our flagship is AXIELAB, the design studio dedicated to the brand experience”.
Particular attention is paid to the American market, considered strategic for the present and especially for the future. “America is one of the most important markets for us and will probably become the main one”. The entry into the United States, which began in 2019, showed great potential: “We immediately realized the enormous potential: with our know-how in design and architecture we could offer a significant added value.” From here the choice to open a seat in New York, “natural choice since many of our customers are there”.
Central is also cultural integration: “We believe in the mix between Italian DNA and local adaptation: our teams are always hybrid, American and Italian, or Chinese and Italian. This biculturality works very well”.
In the comparison between business models, Rapisardi highlights net differences between Italy and the Anglo-Saxon world: “I am absolutely convinced that it is essential to unite the two cultures. I, having left Italy very young, have developed a different approach and I very much appreciate the pragmatism of the Anglo-Saxon world: the ability to make decisions quickly”.
For a company to excel is fundamental human capital: “I believe so much in verticality: at first you can do a little bit of everything, but when you grow, you have to specialize. Those who do marketing must do marketing, those who take care of purchases must shop, and so on».
To achieve great results you need a great team building: «You must not be afraid to hire better people of yourself». A clear managerial vision, which is detached from the most emotional narratives of the enterprise: “The company is not a family or a “child”, but a structure made of managers”.
Pardgroup’s focus is always on the customer: “The key to our business is one: to help the customer sell their product. We can do this through field marketing, so with promoter on the point of sale, or designing showcases, shops, displays or events”.
In a context where consumer attention is increasingly reduced, the challenge is to catch it in a few moments: “Today the attention of a passer on a window lasts three seconds, we must catch it immediately”.
From here comes the centrality of experience: “People don’t go to the store just to buy: they want to live something. Perhaps they find few products exposed, but an immersive environment, an experience, a moment of entertainment”.
Pardgroup fits into this space, designing environments, events and interactions that transform retail into entertainment.
Finally, the look moves on the future and on personal and corporate ambition: “My dream is to be recognized as a true international company, almost more American than Italian”.
An intention that does not deny the Italian roots, but aims to overcome them: «I want Pardgroup to be perceived as a multinational, not as an Italian company that has expanded abroad».
A vision consistent with its own path: «I myself feel in part Italian and in part international… my goal is to overcome borders and build a global identity».
L’articolo Francesca Rapisardi: «Pardgroup wants to be a true multinational, not only an Italian company abroad» comes from IlNewyorkese.
