
Interview with Brunello Cucinelli, King of Cashmere - rcarmo
http://pi.co/brunello-cucinelli-2/
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simonebrunozzi
I was born and grew up in Assisi, in the heart of Umbria, the Italian region
where Cucinelli is from, and where his company is located.

I visited the company twice, and I am good friend with someone who is very
close to him.

I know many details, some of which I won't reveal as I don't know if they are
supposed to be revealed; but in general, I have a very high opinion of
Brunello Cucinelli and his work.

One thing that I particularly appreciate is the fact that he tries to
"elevate" his workers, from a cultural standpoint, at every occasion.

Years ago, when tensions between Christianity and Islam were rising, Brunello
gave a Koran as a present to everybody, saying something like "we should know
them better; if we do, we will stop being racists and we will understand that
we are all human beings".

He invests millions of euros a year in cultural projects, or invites famous
actors or thinkers or philosophers to give a lecture to his workforce.

Another episode that I love is that, when the company does well financially,
he voluntarily decides to distribute thousands of euros to each employee as a
present.

I have never bought any of his product, as they are extremely expensive. I
know several people which own his cashmere, and they all rave about it. If you
like to invest thousands of euros in clothing, then his products are fine. My
upper threshold has been in the few hundreds, and only for a few selected
ones.

Last, but not least, everybody talks about and knows Tuscany, but Umbria is
really a hidden jewel. As always, when you visit Italy or any other foreign
country, keep your eyes open, as there's always someone trying to take
advantage of you, especially if you're American or Japanese (trust me,
American or Japanese tourists are considered to be the "easiest" to take
advantage of).

If you like Brunello's style of management, you should also read about Adriano
Olivetti. If Olivetti didn't die prematurely, there would be a non-zero chance
that instead of talking about Intel today, we would be talking about Olivetti.

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tsunamifury
I have enormous respect for Brunello, his process, and their product. I
purchased a used pair of Brunello loafers for $200USD (Retail for ~ $999) and
many years later they continue to perform at the highest quality even after
daily use -- and on top of that have stayed fashionable.

Cucinelli seems focus on the entire dynamic of what a product is; considering
everything from how it was made, what it is made of, how it is sold, and how
long it lasts long after it is purchased. This type of care for the ecosystem
of commerce is so incredibly rare I can't help but applaud the man and what he
and his workers have accomplished. But what he has truly done is make a
product that is an icon -- something to be purchased for all those dynamics
and maintains its value even for the 2nd and 3rd owner.

"There are some companies that give a lot of their money to charity. I’m not
interested in that. Because first of all I want to see how they make their
profit in the process. It is meaningless that they make a huge profit and then
do charity."

His clarity, but lack of cynicism makes an environment that I would aspire to
be a part of some day. Honest, yet hopeful.

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davidw
The bit of Italy I live in is pretty, but Umbria (where the company is
located) is - in my view - one of the most beautiful places in the world. I
can't help but think that makes you happier, whoever you are, rich or poor.

~~~
irixusr
Umbria is beautiful. We went there for vacation once, just before the
earthquake. What part of Italy are you from?

~~~
davidw
I'm not from Italy but live in Padova for... a few more weeks :-/ See my
profile.

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irixusr
I saw your profile, interesting! As I want to go back and live in Italy, I
also signed up for news for the book.

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jedanbik
Wonderful interview. If only he didn't have to charge $995 for each cashmere
sweater to be able to provide these things for his workers, and for himself.
Either way, I'm glad he does.

~~~
tsunamifury
Whats wrong with his price point? $995 isn't 1 million dollars -- if someone
valued participating in this ecosystem almost any first-world consumer could
afford one or two and have them for a lifetime.

Also consider the psychological pricing -- maybe he could cut his sweaters to
$599, or $299 (but not much lower than that) -- but likely still be way out of
the "I dont pay more than $49.99 for a sweater" crowd. So then he'd be leaving
a ton of money on the table for fractional growth.

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irixusr
Olivetti ran his company more or less the same way - as a philosopher

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eonw
Amazing man, wish i could afford his clothing.

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dharma1
great read, thanks

