To accompany our readers in discovering the Italian excellences that continue to stand out on international markets, Italian Design Icons this time we met the GIVI Group company, founded in Flero, in the province of Brescia, a historic world leader in the design and production of premium accessories and components for motorcyclists.
From rigid suitcases to helmets, from backpacks to the most innovative accessories, GIVI combines Italian design and constant technological research, building over time a solid and structured presence in the Asia-Pacific area thanks to local branches and production plants.
Leading this international expansion is Dr. Joseph A. Perucca, Overseas Operation Director of GIVI SPA and General Director of GIVI Vietnam and President Director of GIVI Indonesia. With sixty years of energy and over forty years of international management experience in the motorcycle accessories and apparel industry — with a particular focus on Southeast Asia and South America — Joseph has contributed to the development of new markets and the establishment of factories in Malaysia, Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia. His professional path is intertwined with the Group’s global expansion into over fifteen countries, which leads him to spend more than a quarter of the year travelling.
In this exclusive interview, Joseph Perucca, currently in Ho Chi Minh City, tells us the strategy that has made GIVI a point of reference in Asia and shares his vision on the future prospects of the accessories and premium components market for motorcyclists.
- You joined GIVI Group in 1989 and today lead the company in a key region such as Asia-Pacific. GIVI has been present in Asia for more than thirty years, where it has assumed a central role in the sector of accessories and premium components for motorcyclists. How would you describe GIVI’s journey in Asia and Vietnam and what meaning does GIVI have for local consumers?
It has been a long journey, which began in 1990, guided by the incredible vision of our founder, Giuseppe Visenzi, who from the first moment was able to recognize Asia as one of the markets of the future, entrusting me with the task of giving concrete form to his pioneering intuitions.
In 1992 we laid the first bricks in Malaysia, a strategic choice for low production costs, maintained quality and central location in South-East Asia, with the aim of making it the main manufacturing and R&D hub for the region. Today a 25,000 m² factory stands, a tangible testimony of our intentions and our desire for growth. This reality represented the model and point of reference for the subsequent branches opened in Vietnam (10,000 m², 15 years ago) and in Indonesia (6,000 m², 10 years ago), with a total human capital that employs over 500 people.
China, on the other hand, represents a key market mainly on the commercial front: thanks to a widespread distribution network and reliable partners.
GIVI Group confirms its solidity also from an economic point of view, with a 2023 turnover of around 100 million euros and a total workforce of around 850 employees worldwide, demonstrating the Group’s ability to grow and consolidate itself in international markets.
Today we are present as authentic witnesses of the Italian System, not only as a productive reality, but as the driving force of an Italian industrial philosophy fully integrated into the social, cultural and economic fabric of these countries: places where we began as guests and in which, with pride, we have become a real and constant part of local economic progress.
It is important to recognize what our goals and objectives were from the beginning. From the first moment, we never considered these territories – then economically distant from our standards – as simple low-cost production areas to supply already mature markets. On the contrary, our desire has always been to bring quality, engineering and safety to the local motorcycle community.
It was a very high risk. At the time, a manufacturing employee would have to spend the equivalent of two months’ salary to purchase one of our products. However, thanks to willpower, perseverance, understanding of local needs — both technical and human — and the ability to adapt without ever giving up our qualitative and innovative ethos, we have arrived at today’s reality.
Today, with over two million cases present on the streets of Kuala Lumpur and thanks to the contribution of our other branches and a solid network of importers active throughout the Asian market, we continue to grow. This result is made possible by the local motorcycle user’s recognition of not only the qualitative but also the social value of our brand.
- GIVI continues to have great success in Asia, becoming synonymous with quality, style and innovation in premium components for motorcyclists. What key factors do you think have contributed to building this success in such a dynamic market?
I believe that the ability to understand local human, technical and cultural values, and to know how to harmonize them with our corporate values, has undoubtedly been one of the fundamental factors of our success.
I have always made my own the principle of measuring every choice with the “local yardstick”, and not exclusively with that of our culture of origin. In my opinion, this approach has allowed us not only to truly integrate into the different Asian contexts, but above all to give motivation, responsibility and spirit of initiative to our local workforce.
Today we can count on a structure made up of local staff, who independently manage operations in their respective countries. While maintaining strong cooperation and constant alignment between all our production sites and the headquarters in Italy, we have managed to create an environment in which our industrial culture is now natural, shared and fully understood.
As evidence of this path, in our Asian branches we now employ almost exclusively local staff, with the presence of only three Italian collaborators, confirming a solid, mature and sustainable organizational model.
- Looking at the entire Asia-Pacific region, what do you think are the main trends that are transforming the market of premium motorcycle accessories and components, and what strategies is GIVI group adopting to seize these new opportunities?
From a managerial point of view, this undoubtedly represents one of the most complex aspects to manage. Asia-Pacific has been an area in constant and very rapid evolution for over twenty years, a continuous transformation involving markets, consumers and business models. In this context, it is sufficient to “close your eyes” for a short period to find yourself faced with a profoundly different scenario.
Integrating the technological advances, innovations and strategic vision of our headquarters with the needs and timing of local markets has not always been easy. The creative rhythms and the market reaction rhythms, in fact, have never perfectly aligned. It is precisely in this context that in-depth knowledge of the local panorama, combined with a constant investment in the creation of work teams that share the Group’s ethos and vision, but which are at the same time autonomous, reactive and self-sufficient, has represented one of the most relevant and strategic tasks.
The strong belief that we are a company capable of creating trends, rather than simply following them, and of positioning ourselves at the forefront of changes, has been part of our DNA since our origins.
Today GIVI remains one of the few companies in the sector to operate completely vertically in product development: we do not limit ourselves to designing them, but we engineer 360-degree solutions for the world of motorbikes, maintaining full internal control of both the engineering project and the production process. This approach allows us to respond quickly and effectively to new market trends, while at the same time preserving without compromise the high quality standards that have always distinguished us.
- With the growing focus in Asia on electric and sustainable mobility, what role will premium components play in your growth strategy for the Asia-Pacific region?
The development of electric mobility does not represent, in our opinion, an isolated factor, but rather the natural continuation of a transformation process that the motorcycle sector has already started some time ago. The need to integrate more advanced, sustainable and eco-friendly technologies is not in fact an exclusive prerogative of the electric world.
Motorcycle manufacturers have been working for years with the aim of reducing CO emissions₂, through the improvement of engine efficiency and, above all, through the design of increasingly lighter motorcycles. This evolution has inevitably also influenced our development parameters, leading us to anticipate and integrate solutions consistent with the new needs of the market.
We have long been engaged in the search for materials with a lower environmental impact, in advanced aerodynamic development — as in the case of our most recent Air V49 suitcase, designed using the wind tunnel — and in the application of new technologies oriented towards weight reduction, as demonstrated by the Weightless series.
Premium components, in this context, take on a central role in our growth strategy for the Asia-Pacific area: not only as a technical response to the evolution of mobility, but as a concrete expression of an industrial vision oriented towards innovation, sustainability and safety, values that will continue to guide the future of the GIVI Group.
- Speaking of the Asia-Pacific market, Asia remains a very dynamic market. How important is the dialogue between Italian companies and Asian investors, particularly Vietnamese, today to encourage mutual development?
It is absolutely fundamental. Producing locally does not simply mean relocating a part of production, but implies the ability to build structured and lasting collaborations with the local industrial fabric. This involves the entire supply chain: from the research and development of raw materials, to the integration of new technologies, up to the concrete contribution to the growth and maturation of local companies.
Those who are excessively jealous of their know-how and are not willing to share it with a view to cooperation effectively exclude themselves from the evolution of the entire system. A closed approach not only slows down development, but inevitably leads to a condition of staticity, incompatible with the continuous improvement of the product and processes.
The dialogue between Italian companies and Asian investors – in particular Vietnamese – therefore represents a key element to promote mutual, sustainable and long-term development, based on trust, exchange of skills and creation of shared value.
- What suggestions would you give to Italian companies that want to approach Asia?
There are no written rules or miraculous advice. However, based on my personal experience, I can say that managing a company abroad requires, first of all, the ability to adapt, curiosity to learn and open-mindedness, avoiding the risk of comparing or judging cultures according to one’s own reference parameters.
It is essential to know how to merge our knowledge with local knowledge, to have the strength to learn and assimilate even what, at times, appears distant or foreign to our way of understanding the world. Only through this process of listening, respect and integration is it possible to build solid and lasting relationships.
In summary, it also means knowing how to admit that a “Special Fried Rice” or “Chicken Noodles” have the same cultural, emotional and identity value as spaghetti and our pizza.
By: Avv. Carlo Diego D’Andrea, Managing Partner of D’Andrea & Partners Legal Counsel, National Vice President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC).
