Professor Salvatore Hosts Andrea Turilli and Emanuele Toscano from Brioni
Brioni representatives Andrea Turilli and Emanuele Toscano
On Monday, April 10, 2017, Professor Antonella Salvatore, Director of JCU’s Center for Career Services & Continuing Education, hosted Andrea Turilli and Emanuele Toscano, respectively Store Manager and Human Resources Recruiting & Development Specialist at Brioni. Brioni is an exclusive brand of made-to-measure tailored clothing (as opposed to ready-to-wear clothing) for men. Turilli and Toscano gave a lecture on the company’s identity and culture to the students in the “Retailing Applied to Fashion” and “Made in Italy: the Italian Business Environment” classes. The event was open to retailing and marketing students and professors. Turilli and Toscano conducted an informal and interactive session, allowing the participants to grasp what it means to work for an international luxury brand.
They began by illustrating the company history and tradition, which dates back to their first store opening in Rome in 1945. From that time, the company’s mission has been to push the high quality craftsmanship of Brioni tailors to the level of Art. In addition, Turilli and Toscano explained that this is what allowed their 100% Made in Italy brand to go beyond mere fashion and reach the status of a prestigious luxury brand. Brioni is now part of a large holding of luxury brands, the Kering Group, which includes Gucci, Bottega Veneta, and Stella McCartney. According to Andrea Turilli, the Brioni sales process is very long, matching the company philosophy, and is based on customer relationship management. Customers intervene on every detail of the article of clothing in order to obtain a perfect product, with three or four fittings in four to six weeks before completing the purchase.
The last part of the lecture focused on the Brioni Human Resources Department. Besides their Scuola di Alta Sartoria to train tailors starting at age 14, Brioni professionals are divided into office work and retail, and go through a long evaluation process in order to advance their career. The employees who work in retail are the ones who encounter customers and need to develop and maintain a constant relationship with them. However, Toscano asserted that professional experience in the store, required for the retailers, who always start from the bottom position of sales advisor, is beneficial also for the employees who work at the headquarters. Therefore, it is essential to demonstrate both flexibility and creativity in order to be hired for a position and grow in Brioni.
Professor Antonella Salvatore, who is also a former Retail Director in the fashion industry, and the author of Il Manuale del Retailing (The Retail Manual), said that “the Brioni representatives allowed participating students to understand the real value of ‘Made in Italy’ and why it is such a successful brand all over the world.”
