Image and Product Manager (co-principal / second-generation owner), Doucal's S.r.l.
ShoppingMap.it meets Gianni Giannini, Doucal’s
Live del 21 Maggio ore 17.00 con Gianni Giannini, Doucal's.
Transcript (9 segments)
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Interviewer0:00
Good afternoon everyone, it's Thursday, May 21st. We're about to connect with Doucal's and specifically with Gianni Giannini, one of the two owners along with his brother Gerry, who is busy with work. Later at 6 PM we'll have another connection with Alessandro Dell'Acqua. We're now connecting to Montegranaro with Doucal's. We see an artisan at work. We're waiting for Gianni. Finally, Gianni, good afternoon, thank you for giving us this opportunity to visit your company. Welcome back to work and good luck.
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Gianni Giannini4:06
Thank you, we're happy to open our doors. Here Samuele is working on the shoe, applying a traditional patina technique. We use completely natural materials and give them unique colors. He starts from a natural white base, applies a red base, then black using a brush and other tools to create a special color with depth. This handwork gives the shoe a modern look with great depth.
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Interviewer6:11
Let's introduce two fundamental themes: quality and strong identity. Quality has always been our hallmark, ensuring longevity and development over the years, always with a touch of modernity that comes from updating season after season, making products more particular and innovative. Also innovation in personnel and collaborators, as you can see young artisans replacing older ones.
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Gianni Giannini9:49
Now we have a brief overview from 1989 back to the 80s. You can see a succession of completely different styles and changing volumes, as foot anatomy and ideas have evolved. It's beautiful to take this journey through history. Our archive is a material testimony of the passage of generations and the love over the years. This model from the early 70s was a big success, with high heels influenced by Saturday Night Fever. Over the years we have always innovated while maintaining artisanal quality. Today's collections are contemporary and modern but deeply rooted in tradition. I've been with the company for 22 years, so I know the dynamics well. We always try to do something we love, because that gives better results than forcing things that don't represent us. We are already working on the next fall/winter collection, even though we still have to present the spring/summer one. We work well in advance. The spring/summer collection, originally due at the end of May, will now be presented in early July. We hope the market responds positively and we return to normal. It will be a difficult season, especially in Milan where our commercial base is, but thanks to our international network we will reach most clients through our agents around the world. We will make an extra effort to stay close to them and keep the brand's presence high.
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Interviewer15:34
Indeed, you touch on the theme of internationality. Over the years you have conquered important market shares all over the world, confirming that when there is quality and strong identity, there are stories to tell. We Italians know how to do this and are appreciated abroad. The strength has been to unite great history and tradition with modernity brought by the new generation, with a different perspective and strong attention to what happens in the world and markets. Marketing, communication, style, and commercial aspects are now fundamental. A beautiful product without support is not enough today; you need to be complete. Before this live, I had a long chat with an important name in the supply chain, an Italian excellence in raw materials, about the importance of telling the story behind each brand. In recent years you have also created workshops at Pitti Uomo, showing craftsmanship. You believed in this before others. It's not enough to make a good product; you have to know how to tell it, explain why and how a product has certain costs and functionalities. You have always worked on flexibility, lightness, and detail. The secret is to give lightness and technicality to a high-sartorial product, combined with a modern image through young collaborators, but ultimately we tell the tradition of the Marche region in shoe construction, which cannot be taught in five minutes. It takes years of work, experience, and sensitivity. We make handmade shoes with 90% natural materials. It's like being given a blank sheet of paper and having to create a masterpiece. The leather is selected, colored, and aged by hand. The proportions are drawn by hand. The entire process is handmade, using natural materials. This complexity and lightness cannot be improvised. You are in the heart of the Marche shoe district, with a long tradition. We have been here since 1968, the brand was born in 1973. The company has grown while maintaining production here. Our main entrance is a farmhouse from the 1800s. Over the years we have expanded into old buildings, becoming a diffused company across six adjacent buildings, like a small neighborhood where we make our shoes.
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Gianni Giannini35:28
I believe that in this difficult moment, we should not try to lower prices or go into other sectors. Our response is to make even more beautiful and emotional products, because people need to be excited. We must be good at creating things that are always more beautiful and particular, to stimulate positive feelings and encourage purchases. The saying 'tell me what shoes you wear and I'll tell you who you are' is still valid. You can often tell a lot from the model, color, and care. The Matisse is a very simple slipper, but simplicity is complex because proportions and materials must be perfect. It is a foldable, flexible shoe suitable for any occasion. It helped a lot with internationalization. It is a revival of a model we made 7-8 years ago, improved with today's technical experience. It comes in many materials and colors. It represents Italianness with sinuous, tapered forms. Another essential shoe is the 'cappa super'? Actually, the biggest mistake in the past was trying to be too pop, attracted by fashion trends and collaborating with designers, which led to a loss of identity. The real strength is our tradition, territory, and humanity. We should not be tempted by that world.
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Interviewer41:00
We were saying that today we were supposed to have your brother Gerry here, who handles the commercial side. In this period he must be under particular pressure. How is the relationship between you two? Is it love-hate, always a continuous confrontation?
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Gianni Giannini42:34
Fortunately, the relationship is based on great mutual respect. Each has their own role and functions, but there is continuous comparison because there is no commercial without product and style, and no product without commercial. In 2020, collections are made by listening to the needs of the final consumer and clients. The commercial side provides information, but we also have to surprise and conquer every time. We design unique products.
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Interviewer43:59
Thank you very much for this chat and for this virtual visit to your company. It was very important to share your experience and story, to give testimony of another Italian brand that tells Italianness and quality not only in Italy but also internationally. There is a need to tell these stories to consumers and professionals. Before, we were all in a hurry and bought only looking at the brand, losing details. Today it's important and beautiful to rediscover these things. Thank you, Gianni, and your brother Gerry, and the whole team. See you soon.