In New York, a square is not only a place of passage. It is a space where people, ideas and activities meet, recognize and build new opportunities. It is from this idea that Piazza Italia was born, the project hosted at 10 Times Square and designed to become a reference point for Italian companies looking at the United States.
“A square is much more than an urban space. It is the crossroads in which commerce, culture and relationships meet”, says Marco Giovanelli, Vice President of Piazza Italia. “We wanted to recreate this concept in the heart of New York, turning it into a house for Italian companies in America”.
The new headquarters, located on the 22nd floor of 10 Times Square, gathers offices, showrooms, logistics spaces and an area designed for sociality and meetings. Not a simple office building, therefore, but a place where companies can gradually enter the American market, finding from the first day a flexible structure and a community to confront.
“Coworking is the most natural starting point,” explains Giovanelli. “A company can start with a shared location, move to a private office when it grows or immediately establish a permanent presence. The important thing is to have the opportunity to choose the most suitable solution for its development phase”.
To support everyday work there is also a concierge service, designed to address practical aspects related to the management of a business in New York. “Who arrives in the United States must focus on their business, not on the organizational difficulties of their office. For this reason we have built a system that can simplify life to enterprises”.
A community of Italian entrepreneurs, professionals and creatives is developed around the spaces. People with different experiences, but united by language, roots and will to build something in the United States. “The idea is that those who enter Piazza Italia do not remain a simple customer. You come from strangers, but in a short time you become part of a family”.
The second element of the project concerns services. Entering the American market means comparing with rules, procedures and requirements often far from the Italian ones. Piazza Italia brings together accounting, legal, financial, logistics, commercial and marketing skills under the same roof.
“We didn’t want to create a list of unconnected suppliers,” explains Giovanelli. “We have built an integrated system, in which the accountant can dialogue with the lawyer, logistics coordinate with sales and marketing taking into account the company’s financial reality. All the professionals involved know the way of working Italian companies”.
A key point in the new headquarters in Piazza Italia is the relationship. “In Italian business, personal relationships are a real infrastructure,” says Giovanelli. For this reason, Piazza Italia considers networking a central function, not an occasional activity. The project provides targeted presentations with customers, distributors, investors, consultants and other entrepreneurs, selected according to the industry, objectives and growth phase of the company.
An important role is also reserved for participation in B2B fairs. Piazza Italia accompanies companies in the preparation of the stand, in the organization of meetings with buyers, in the management of the presence on site and in the transformation of contacts collected in concrete commercial opportunities.
«A fair does not begin the day when the stand opens and does not end when the doors close. We must get prepared, know with whom to speak and have a strategy to transform relationships into results”.
To complete the route there is the Penthouse, the space for events located on the thirty-fourth floor of 10 Times Square, with a privileged view on the New York skyline. Here you can carry out product launches, press events, receptions with customers and professional meetings.
“For an Italian brand entering America, an evening at the Penthouse can change the way it is perceived. It can transform an unknown company into an impossible reality to forget,” says Giovanelli.
The model is thought as a progressive path. A manufacturing company can start with a prestigious location and address, use professional services to organize its entry into the market, meet distributors through the network, participate in a fair and conclude the route with a launch event overlooking Times Square.
“Spaces, services and relationships must open the door to each other. This is the logic of Piazza Italia. Our goal is to reduce the input costs, shorten the path towards the first revenues and offer companies the community and credibility necessary to compete in the world’s most difficult market”.
The vision, at the bottom, is enclosed in a simple phrase: “Italian companies deserve a real home in New York. The square is open”.
L’articolo Marco Giovanelli: “Piazza Italia is the home of Italian companies in New York” comes from IlNewyorkese.
