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The Bridge: my first forty years

Giuseppe Monserrato is the new Managing Director of The Bridge. The arrival of the new director anticipates a new plan of brand development which includes some important new elements in comparison with the past.

by Lorena Mambretti

Giuseppe Monserrato, 42 years old, has come to The Bridge, a Florence's company operating in the market of exclusive leather goods. He comes here in his capacity of Managing Director from the position of Commercial Director of Montblanc Italy. Research into product, distribution and communication will become the main points of his future plan of company development and growth.

Can you tell us in few words about the brand?

"The Bridge was born 40 years ago. It immediately stood out for its quality and manufacturing capacities. It's in leather finishing that the company expresses its maximal potential. Some items of the brand like men briefcases soon became real icons of style, symbol-products able to represent the company's perfect mix of tradition linked to production methods, and innovation referring mainly to materials like leather, seldom used for manufacture of men's collections".

You are the new Managing Director of the company, what communication strategies will you apply in order to renew the brand?

"We are actually aiming at achieving major distinctiveness of the company's identity, trying to reinforce the basic values of the company is so important to our customers. Achievements like manufacturing capacity, credibility, the use of precious materials, good relationship between price and quality have enabled us to find consensus by taking large market shares in the past. But first of all The Bridge managed to create a friendly relationship with its customers based on a frequent fact that many customers prefer mending to buying a new item for the same price. And in terms of communication we have to aim at the concept of ‘a part of myself in the product’. In other words, it's not fashion victims who buy The Bridge products, it is those who look for a part of themselves in the item, who want to be represented by it. And The Bridge thanks to its flexibility, versatility, and modern classicism will become a complete expression of tastes of its buyers. It is a product you can't do without because it's a part of you".

What are other crucial strategies of your plan?

"As far as our product is concerned, we are going to extend the brand from briefcase and men's accessories to collections fully dedicated to women and tourism. Women's bags constitute a strategic element for The Bridge, a market accounting for 30% of our sales. Unlike the concept of ‘elegant functionality’ which has always distinguished the men's collections, there will be developed a new concept of contemporary fashion and glamour to enrich the current women's collections of bags.There's another fundamental point - pricing. We are now looking into a new policy of quality/price relationship, a requisite indispensable during a crisis like we are facing now, when the consumer needs a sort of justification to buy something".

Are you going to develop your licensing plans in the future?

"Of course, licensing represents another important area of development. At the moment we have signed a few contracts for licensed production of some clothing and accessories. Now we are about to have another step forward by signing more contracts with new partners. Specifically we are looking for a licensee for footwear, a partner able to not only follow the quality guidelines of The Bridge but also represent its values and philosophy".

How about overseas markets? What are you doing in this field? Are going to expand to new countries?

"In the international field we intend to first of all reinforce our position on European market. We are going to reach the UK through cooperation with department stores like Harrod's and Selfridges. In Northern Europe and Germany our products have already settled definitively thanks to their functionality, thus we will hopefully consolidate our position. As regards to the emerging markets the company doesn't conceal its interest in expanding to The Arab Emirates, and the ex Soviet Union countries".

And what about Italian market, what are you going to focus on in this area?

"We are now restructuring the distribution network and private stores. Today we have 16 boutiques in all strategic cities: Turin, Bergamo, Rome, Bari and Palermo. Milan will become our next target. In the first quarter of 2010 we are going to open a boutique whose role will be not only commercial but also to guarantee the brand a strategic visibility to the rest of Europe".

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