Diego Della Valle’s bet on China

A liaison that began almost eight years ago. A bet that, over time, has in part helped guide the Marche-based group past the billion-revenue threshold. Tod’s is now celebrating its partnership with the giant Alibaba and the achievements in Greater China, a region that last year, though slowed by restrictions related to the zero-Covid-19 policies, contributed to overall sales by generating 287.2 million in revenue. «I have not visited the country yet after the pandemic, but I will be back this Friday. That market is moving so fast that I really think I will see a new China!» Diego Della Valle, Chairman and ceo of Tod’s group, joked on stage at the event “Customer first. Digital innovation & global export» organized by Alibaba and held yesterday at the Talent garden calabiana in Milan.

With this appointment, the Chinese technology company wanted to celebrate the success of its experience in Italy more than seven years after starting operations in the country. During a talk with Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio, general manager of Alibaba group South Europe, the entrepreneur from Marche talked about his company’s experience in China and how his Tod’s, Hogan, Fay, and Roger Vivier brands have been able to combine their tradition with the innovative strategies needed to win over the local public. «Today China is crucial for us, as it is a market that grows every year. It is very important, fast and cheaper than other countries, such as the US, for example, to develop business,» the owner of the Group, specializing in luxury footwear, explained.

With Alibaba, the group has a long-standing collaboration under its belt. «On October 25, 2015, during a dinner in Milan, I made a commitment to founder Jack Ma to open the first Italian store on Alibaba. We wanted to tell our work and our story to Chinese consumers,» Della Valle recounted. «Our experience in China on the Tmall platform was a shared adventure to discover a fascinating and somehow complicated market, but certainly unmissable for the world of luxury and fashion. The theme of today’s event, internationalization in a digital key, again underscores the importance for companies and entrepreneurs to always look ahead, with confidence, approaching new and different paths to continue to take Made in Italy far into the world».

The entrepreneur then addressed the institutions, present in the person of Valentino Valentini, deputy minister at the Ministry of enterprise and Made in Italy, to ask the government to bring Smes closer to the Chinese platform thus increasing the exposure of local customers to Italian culture and lifestyle. «Those who travel and come to our country breathe in our excellence, which they want to relive when they return home,» he pointed out. «These consumers are very curious and attentive to storytelling, especially younger people, who make up a significant portion of the total. With next year I think we will start welcoming many tourists again, so we need to let them find a prepared country. Let’s work hard to have a hospitable country, let’s keep this primacy that will allow us to regain positions at the European level as well,» Della Valle concluded.

The conference was an opportunity as well to discuss on the topic of the prospects for the expansion of the Italian excellence in international markets and featured a speech by the president of Iccf-Italy China council foundation, Mario Boselli. In addition, for the first time since the start of its activity in Italy, the Alibaba group estimated the contribution to the growth of Italian companies and exports of our country through marketplaces that allow Italian brands to intercept the growing demand for their products to a competitive market such as China. An analysis by Sda Bocconi showed that, in 2022 alone, the total turnover developed by the more than 500 Italian companies on the platforms aimed at the Chinese market, Tmall and Tmall global, on Kaola, and in the automated supermarket chain Freshippo and Taobao global, reached 5.4 billion euros, equal to about a third of the value of Italian exports to China and important growth of 140% achieved precisely in the years marked by the pandemic, that is, between 2019 and 2022.

The analysis, shown by Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffé, associate professor of practice of strategy and entrepreneurship at Sda Bocconi school of management, found as well a positive induced effect in terms of production value and employment generated in Italy thanks to the development of new business opportunities favored by the e-commerce model and digital marketing opportunities created within Alibaba’s ecosystem. «We have been in Italy for more than seven years and we are happy with what we have achieved to date, a true local ecosystem to enable the Italian business world to understand and capitalize on the opportunities of Alibaba’s marketplaces for exports worldwide,» Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio said. «Italy is the second largest country by export value in Europe and has a huge potential to reach a leadership position quickly. A great opportunity of course is China, which is in fact a market yet to be explored for Italian companies, but in general digital trade opens up a world of possibilities on a global scale».

In relation to the opportunities for the Italian system, deputy minister Valentini concluded that «even at a time of growing tensions at the international level, trade between the countries continues within defined paths, creating wealth but also mutual knowledge. This is why we trust that the cooperation between Alibaba and Italian companies will continue and grow even more, in mutual interest». (All rights reserved)