“We must constantly invest, have a vision”. In Italy folded by the virus, while the GDP is sinking and the recovery plan is still unknown, there are those who update the objectives. “In the medium term we are aiming for a billion in revenues”, says Nerio Alessandri, sixty years in the spring, since 1983 at the top of Technogym. The great crisis is frightening, but these twelve months lived dangerously will leave important lessons. “Covid represented an acceleration, especially for technology,” he explains, confident that the country will get up again. «I have faith in Italians, in their entrepreneurial ability. But we need schools, the support of the system. Digitization has opened up the world, there are no more barriers to competition. The combination of Italian creativity and American and Chinese technologies will win. We can play this game ». Alessandri witnesses the great change from a privileged position. The company he founded in a garage in Cesena is now a world leader with 2,300 employees and 50 million people, in 100 countries who train with its tools every day. Around Technogym, in the heart of Romagna, a district has arisen renamed “Wellness Valley” and “could only have been born here, 10 kilometers from the sea, in the entertainment factory of Europe, with a tradition of sport and a very high quality of life”.
President, the virus has upset the economy but you are raising the bar on turnover….
“Markets come and go, the world doesn’t end. We must transform ourselves, know how to unlearn a trade and learn a new one. This is the time to question yourself, with a lot of humility. The key word is: change. Crises hide an opportunity and now we need to look ahead, because otherwise we stop investing ».
Closed gyms and large hotels that work in fits and starts. Who do you contact?
“There is a huge number of people who exercise at home, in the first nine months of 2020 the home fitness segment grew by 58%. But the house added to the other segments, it wasn’t a substitute. It’s like in the Sixties: you watched TV in the bar. Then it came to homes, but we didn’t stop seeing it when we are in the hotel or office. Before Covid, home fitness was a niche, now something very big ».
Has the business model changed?
“People can’t wait to go to the gym or take a vacation. And the structures have not canceled the orders, they have only postponed them. We have invested a lot, we try to enhance this market and to be ready, after the pandemic, to go to all the lifestyle places ».
How important is digital to you?
«It is fundamental, but the transformation does not take place in six months, it takes years. We have always believed in it, you cannot decide to create an ecosystem of connected products all of a sudden. We are the Apple of fitness: we have “smart equipment”, software applications, on-demand videos with Netflix-style training experiences. Technogym has changed its skin several times. In the early 90s, from a mechanical to an electronic company. Then in 2000 we introduced the software and in 2020 we added the contents ».
The next goals?
«The rehabilitation centers. We are for the cardio-circulatory segment, both for medical fitness. Exercise is a very powerful drug, a new world that interests us very much ».
Five years ago you landed on the stock exchange. What has changed?
«Technogym must be a value for all shareholders. In the stock market, just like in life, there are pros and cons. The advantages are transparency, visibility that makes us more attractive to managers. The risks? Look at the short term, feel pressured by quarterly reports while an entrepreneur has to think about the long term. We would certainly go public again ».
Technogym has been the exclusive and official supplier for the training centers of athletes in the last 6 editions of the Olympic Games. Are you worried about a possible Tokyo cancellation?
«I think the Olympics will be held. But I suggest they do it at full speed, not quietly. They are a very important educational moment and we know that all precautions can be taken. Today we are used to knowing how to manage Covid and security: we have the tests, the vaccines “.
Health, for her, is almost an obsession. Yet, never as in this year have we seen it threatened …
“Research shows that 45% of people gained weight during the lockdown, 40% sleep badly and 37% show signs of depression. They are chilling data. We have been pursuing a path for some time: health through lifestyles. For 13 years at the Davos Forum we have been carrying out a message: the green economy can evolve into the wellness economy, we must put the person at the center. The environment is a consequence: those who pursue healthy lifestyles respect it ».
If today you were a start-upper just out of school what would you aim for?
«On artificial intelligence, wellness and health. Being ready in tourism is essential, when it returns it will offer many opportunities ».
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