Brains meet brawn in Nerio Alessandri’s fitness equipment company Technogym, which just keeps going from strength to strength. Damon Syson reports
Even though Technogym – the company he launched 25 years ago from his parents’ garage – is Europe’s largest manufacturer of gym equipment, Nerio Alessandri doesn’t like the word ‘fitness’. For the 46-year-old entrepreneur, the future health of society as a whole lies in ‘wellness’.
“Every day I think about how to improve people’s quality of life,” he says with almost evangelical fervour. “I believe Technogym has a social responsibility to promote a better lifestyle based on regular physical activity, a healthy diet, a good environment and a positive mental approach – not just for a few people, but for all.”
Drawing inspiration from the Mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body) ethos of ancient Rome, Alessandri’s lofty goal is to combat obesity, ill-health and the other perils of our sedentary lifestyle. He aims to encourage the entire population to take moderate exercise, not just the 10-15% who consider themselves to be “gym people”.
It’s a noble sentiment, but one that isn’t entirely altruistic. As a canny businesman, he’s more than aware of the enormous untapped market of increasingly health-aware individuals, governments and companies around the world. Technogym has enjoyed an average 40% growth year-on-year for the past 24 years. If the wellness message comes across, Alessandri believes this rate of expansion could continue for the next two decades.
If you were looking for someone to represent a firm promoting health and vitality, you couldn’t wish for a better figurehead than Alessandri. Slim, tanned and crackling with energy, he’s the kind of person who finds it hard to sit still. Midway through our interview he jumps up from his desk and starts stretching, using the stylish-looking exercise machine that occupies pride of place on the wall of his office in Gambettola, Emilia Romagna.
Launched in 2006 at the Salone del Mobile (Milan’s annual furniture fair) this sleek piece of equipment – called a Kinesis Personal – is the jewel in Technogym’s crown. A resistance-based exercise machine that encourages a more natural, flowing movement, it encapsulates Alessandri’s philosophy. Not only does it offer the user a so-called “soft workout” (as opposed to pounding the Stairmaster or beefing yourself up with weights), but it’s also beautiful to look at. “Kinesis is like stretching,” he says, performing a javelin-throwing motion with his right arm. “Even just doing it for a few minutes gives you benefit.”
Alessandri hopes that, in the future, all airports will be equipped with Kinesis machines so that passengers can unwind with a quick stretch after a flight. “Eventually I see exercise going the same way as home cinema,’ he explains. “We may choose to go to the gym for the fun, social aspect, but we will also want the same equipment at home or when we travel.”
Making exercise a more intrinsic part of everyday life is a cornerstone of the Technogym philosophy. At the company offices, all employees are equipped with a Swiss Ball to sit on in addition to a normal chair, to help strengthen abdominal and back muscles and maintain correct posture. “Exercise shouldn’t be about thinking I must train,” he explains. “It’s about changing habits with small, simple things.”
Alessandri’s vision and focus over the past quarter of a century have been rewarded with an array of top awards and honours. In 2001, he became Italy’s youngest Cavaliere del Lavoro, the industry equivalent of a knighthood, and two years later was named Italian Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young.
He was only 22 when he founded Technogym. At the time, he was working as an industrial designer for a packaging firm and tinkering with motorbikes in his spare time. A friend asked him to build a weights machine, which was installed in a local gym and proved an instant hit.
Now an estimated 18 million people around the world use Technogym products and the company boasted an annual turnover last year of €400m, up 20% on 2006. Premium brands like Bang & Olufsen, Cassina and Apple are queuing up to collaborate – Technogym was the first to introduce iPod docks onto its fitness machines. Celebrity devotees include Giorgio Armani, Bill Gates and Dolce & Gabbana. Philippe Starck has a Kinesis machine in his LA apartment and Madonna loves the Cardio Wave equipment.
Technogym also boasts an impressive presence in the world of professional sport, working closely with Michael Schumacher, Paolo Maldini and a host of others. The company supplies equipment to football clubs like Real Madrid and AC Milan, not to mention the America’s Cup boats Alinghi and Luna Rossa. This summer, Technogym will be the exclusive supplier of fitness equipment to the Beijing Olympic Games.
The huge success of his company has allowed Alessandri to perfect a corporate model about which he is extremely passionate. Technogym staff enjoy two-hour lunch breaks during which they are encouraged to use the on-site gym (though he insists it’s not compulsory), eat a healthy meal in the canteen and even head off to the seaside (the Adriatic coast is only a few miles away). Alessandri has won plaudits for the progressive manner in which he looks after his 1,400 employees. In 2005, for example, Technogym was named by Fortune magazine as one of the Top 10 Great Places to Work in Europe.
His vision of corporate utopia will go a step further later this year when the company unveils its revolutionary new headquarters, the Technogym Village, which Alessandri views as his crowning achievement. Currently under contruction just off the Bologna-Rimini autostrada, the world’s first ever “wellness campus” incorporates a factory, offices, state-ofthe-art fitness studio, research and development plus the world’s first Wellness Library, Pavilion and Conference Centre.
Designed by Antonio Citterio, the main building boasts an undulating roof which resembles waves of sand – a structure designed to provide maximum light and space for workers. “The campus will demonstrate how it is possible to live the wellness experience,” Alessandri explains. “Architecture, design, environment, materials – everything is wellness oriented. This not only offers health benefits to staff, but it improves creativity and productivity. We know that staff are more efficient, for example, if they have light and stimulation in their surroundings.”
Other companies are taking note and Technogym’s consultancy arm has already helped big-hitter firms like Google, Mercedes and General Electric to embrace the ‘Total Wellness Solution’. Technogym is even working on a global cable TV channel to disseminate its message around the world. Notably, every individual office in the company is equipped with a globe.
And yet, although Technogym is making steady inroads in the Far East and BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China), Alessandri admits that America, where market leader Life Fitness has a fierce stranglehold, is proving tougher to crack. At present, Technogym is one of the top three fitness equipment manufacturers in the world. Alessandri’s goal over the next decade is to be number one.
“The most important lesson I’ve learned over the past 25 years is to listen,” he says solemnly. “Listen to the market and to your staff. Innovation is the key to growth and your employees are the engine of innovation.
You have to create a culture that embraces constant improvement. Our slogan is: ‘If it works, it’s obsolete.’”
FR Raffermissement sur le marché
du bien-être
Bien que Technogym – la société qu’il a lancée il y a 25 ans – soit le plus grand fabricant d’équipements de gym d’Europe, Nerio Alessandri n’aime pas le mot “fitness”. Pour cet entrepreneur âgé de 47 ans, le futur de la société de la forme réside dans le “bien-être”.
En tant que businessman averti, il est conscient de l’énorme marché inexploité formé des individus, des gouvernements et des sociétés, toujours plus conscients de leur capital santé. Technogym a connu 40% de croissance, année après année, depuis 20 ans. Alessandri est persuadé que ce niveau d’expansion continuera au cours des deux prochaines décennies. Mince, bronzé, et débordant d’énergie, en plein milieu de notre interview, il se lève et commence à s’exercer sur la machine installée le long du mur de son bureau à Gambettola, Emilia Romagna.
Ce brillant équipement – appelé un Kinesis Personal – est le joyau de la couronne de Technogym. Machine basée sur la résistance, elle offre non seulement à l’utilisateur un “doux entraînement ” (en opposition à la ‘gonflette’ avec les poids), mais elle est également agréable à voir.
Alessandri avait 22 ans quand il a fondé Technogym. Un ami lui demanda de construire une machine de musculation pour un club de gym local, qui s’est avéré un succès immédiat. Aujourd’hui on estime à 18 millions le nombre de personnes dans le monde qui utilisent des produits Technogym et le chiffre d’affaires de la société tourne autour de €273m. Des marques de premier ordre comme Bang & Olufsen et Apple font la queue pour devenir des partenaires, tandis que des célébrités ferventes incluent Giorgio Armani, Bill Gates et Madonna.
Technogym est également fort présent dans le monde du sport, en collaborant avec Michael Schumacher, Paolo Maldini, et beaucoup d’autres. Cet été, Technogym sera le fournisseur exclusif d’équipements de fitness aux Jeux Olympiques de Pékin.
Et bien que la société fasse des incursions dans l’Extrême-Orient et dans les pays du groupe BRIC (Brésil, Russie, Inde, Chine), Alessandri admet que l’Amérique est le continent où il est le plus difficile de percer. A l’heure actuelle, Technogym est l’un des trois plus grands fabricants d’équipements sportifs du monde. L’objectif d’Alessandri étant de devenir le numéro un au cours de la prochaine décennie.
NL Sterk op de wellnessmarkt
Nerio Alessandri, die 25 jaar geleden Technogym lanceerde (de grootste Europese fabrikant van sporttoestellen) houdt niet van het woord ‘fitness’. Voor de 47-jarige ondernemer berust de toekomstige gezondheid van onze samenleving op ‘wellness’.
De succesvolle zakenman ziet in het groeiende gezondheidsbewustzijn van individuen, overheden en bedrijven een enorme nieuwe markt. De afgelopen 2 decennia is Technogym jaarlijks met gemiddeld 40% gegroeid. Alessandri gelooft in eenzelfde stijging voor de volgende 20 jaar.
De slanke, gebruinde zakenman bruist van de energie. Halverwege het interview springt hij plots op het fitnesstoestel aan de wand van zijn kantoor in Gambettola (in de regio Emilia-Romagna).
Dit fraaie stukje techniek, de Kinesis Personal, is het paradepaardje van Technogym. Het mooi ogende toestel werkt met weerstand en zorgt voor een “zachte work-out” (in tegenstelling tot de gewichten voor spierenbundels).
Alessandri was 22 toen hij Technogym oprichtte. Een vriend vroeg hem een gewichtentoestel voor een plaatselijk fitnesscentrum te bouwen en het werd meteen een hit. Nu gebruiken zo’n 18 miljoen mensen wereldwijd de producten van Technogym. Het bedrijf heeft een jaarlijkse omzet van 273 miljoen euro. Topmerken als Bang & Olufsen en Apple verdringen elkaar om samen te werken, terwijl beroemdheden als Giorgio Armani, Bill Gates en Madonna fans zijn.
Ook in de sportwereld is Technogym sterk aanwezig, via Michael Schumacher, Paolo Maldini en vele anderen. Komende zomer is Technogym de exclusieve leverancier van fitnessapparatuur op de Olympische Spelen in Beijing.
Hoewel Technogym vaste voet aan de grond krijgt in het Verre Oosten en de BRIC-landen (Brazilië, Rusland, India en China), blijkt Amerika moeilijker te overtuigen. Momenteel is Technogym een van de drie belangrijkste fabrikanten van fitnesstoestellen in de wereld. Het volgende decennium gaat Alessandri voor de eerste plaats.
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