Naples. There are six Campania companies awarded and nominated for the Venice Golden Lion for Entrepreneurship: MagicStore, Liu Jo Luxury, Poppella, Molino Falco, Donna Luisella, P&C Srl Among the prominent personalities, Rosario Lopa, spokesperson for the National Agriculture Council, was chosen. The news was released on Tuesday 25 June, during the press conference held at the Polo Flegreo in Agnano. Courage, teamwork, creativity, tradition and innovation are the values that characterize them and that will probably allow one of them to win the much-coveted award. A 24kt pure gold lion, precious not only for its composition, but above all for the recognition of best Italian company 2019.
In previous years it went to Giovanni Rana, Barilla, Beretta, just to name a few. “Through this award, Numeri 1 club will be born – says Sileno Candelaresi, president of the Order of the Golden Lion of Venice -, we will network the 100 best and super selected Italian companies, who will be able to collaborate with each other starting with a handshake. As it was done in the past, when honesty and seriousness were values shared by all entrepreneurs”. These companies will be able to boast the historic brand, and display it alongside their own brand.
“It is not easy to do business and emerge, in a country where the economy is in decline – comments Svetlana Nesterenko, responsible for the Campania nominations for the award -, but the Order of the Golden Lion of Venice is a great team. Ready to support large and small businesses, which for decades have demonstrated their solidity in the field. Because working as a team is really important”.
Rosa Praticò, president of the Officina delle Idee association and head of the women's entrepreneurship section of Confesercenti, echoed her sentiments. "Unfortunately, it is still difficult for southern entrepreneurs to form a group," she says. "And yet, it is the only real way to create development and opportunities. I am certain that a team composed of all those present at this table would create something truly unique and rare, perhaps explosive."
Here are the comments of the Campania companies nominated for the Venice Golden Lion for Entrepreneurship.
Liu Jo Luxury, is the company that belongs to the Carpi brand but with headquarters in Naples, dedicated to the production of jewelry and watches. A true jewel in the crown for the Neapolitan city, because it was born from the idea of one of the largest families producing precious items, Nardelli Gioielli. "We achieved the greatest success this year, thanks to the merger of our company with the Liu Jo brand - says Bruno Nardelli -, after 12 years of licensing. From next year we will be listed on the stock exchange and this award is an incentive to do more and more".
MagicStore is a leading company in the Italian IT market. The quality and reliability is demonstrated by over 3600 customers throughout Italy. Conceived in 1990 by the tenacious and far-sighted brothers Paolo, Enrico and Pina Tamburrino, it has been a project that has never stopped progressing and improving since then. The small office, rented on the outskirts, is now a company of about a thousand square meters, with over 50 resources including employees and external consultants. A team united by principles and values, such as honesty, respect and efficiency, which for years has dedicated itself body and soul to the development of the first omnichannel platform for retail sales, which integrates physical stores, marketplaces and online shops. "I share this award with all the people who are the living stone of the company - comments Giuseppina Tamburrino, sales and marketing director of MagicStore -, it is thanks to them that we have been able to interpret the change and transform the negative phases that the Italian economy has gone through in recent years into opportunities". In the near future, a book will be published that will tell all the stories of excellence, supported or even created thanks to MagicStore.
Poppella, a historic brand of Neapolitan pastry, consecrated in 2015, thanks to a simple dessert, but with an inebriating flavor. The "snowflake", a small brioche, filled with a cream made from sheep's ricotta and fresh milk and covered with powdered sugar. Today, this dessert is one of the symbols of Naples and even more so of one of the most famous neighborhoods, the Rione Sanità, where Ciro Poppella started his business. "This award moves me! I thank my family, because it was really hard to emerge and continue - says Ciro Poppella -. On several occasions they tried to crush us, but our courage is stronger than any violence". In the near future a shop in Rome.
Antico Mulino Falco was born in Saviano, a land of great master pasta makers. A company that has made its way thanks to determination and a deep knowledge of the raw material. Giovanni Falco was 25 years old when he took over the reins of his grandparents' old mill, transforming it into the Antico Mulino pasta factory. A company that rose like a phoenix, amidst a thousand difficulties, many of which were also due to poor political and bureaucratic management of the territory. "It was really very complicated to emerge," says the young entrepreneur. "After taking over my grandparents' business, which mainly dealt with the milling of cereals, in 2011 I bought a piece of land in what was supposed to be the industrial area of Saviano. An investment that is still fruitless to this day, given that I was only recently granted permission to build. And in all these years, to give life to my project, I was forced to pay a monthly rent of 10 thousand euros, for a warehouse, in which I even slept… on a fifteen-centimeter mattress – he continues with his voice interrupted by emotion -. I went through really difficult years. But I resisted and won my challenge, thanks to my family and great professionals who did not abandon me, on the contrary! It is to them that I dedicate this award”.
Luisa La Matta, better known as Donna Luisella, is an entrepreneur in constant evolution. A devotee and spokesperson of the Neapolitan culinary tradition, she is the owner of three “Benvenuti al Sud” restaurants, two in Secondigliano and one in Aversa. A woman of great sensitivity, she has been able to offer opportunities for integration and redemption, in territories where social hardship is rampant. Among her 40 employees, immigrants and young people with difficult lives or compromised by mental illness. “My strength has always been my family – comments Donna Luisella – and this award is the recognition of all the sacrifices made, together with my husband Claudio and our three children”.
Rosario Lopa, spokesperson for the National Council of Agriculture, member of the National Department of Agri-food, Environment, Agriculture, Water, Catering, Services and Tourism of the MNS. “The Leone d'Oro award for entrepreneurship is first and foremost a suggestion of Italy that produces. And its great merit in Campania is to have given prominence to companies that are guardians of legality, as well as production and development – he says -. Dr. Sileno has shown great courage, because he has brought out excellent companies, which until now have operated in the shadow of stories that are absolutely far from the real courage and dignity of these entrepreneurs. Quality has always made the difference, and this is why I will continue to fight for the recognition of products that are symbols of our territory and of Italy as a whole”.
P&C Srl is the Giaquinto family company, an expression of the Italian tradition in the field of leather goods manufacturing. Tradition and passion that Gennaro Giaquinto has cultivated and perfected for over thirty years, and that he has passed on to his children. Prestigious names in the Italian and international sector rely on the Giaquintos' expertise. The production plant of P. & C. is in the industrial area of Arzano (NA) and has 127 employees, employed in the entire production cycle of bags. The next frontier is the optimization of the production cycle and the implementation of Lean Production, which aims to minimize waste until it is eliminated.
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