The story of Onesti Group is very interesting and is a clear demonstration of how a smart company should move, creating the market instead of chasing it as most do. Briefly, how has your company and family history evolved from 1986 to the present ? What have been the evolutions, the most important company milestones ?
Since 1986, the year Commerciale Nord Italia was founded, the company has gone through some milestones: in addition to several changes of location due to the growth in company size, the company has gradually organized and structured itself not to follow market needs, but where it could to anticipate them. One example is the exclusive product distribution project, which began in 2006 with the Champagne Maison Collet, still our partner today. The goal of capillary distribution, with a sales force and deliveries covering the entire Italian territory, was achieved in 2008, and it was from this goal that OnestiGroup was born, the evolution of Commerciale Nord Italia and a big hat that now encompasses the traditional beverage distribution business and the unit that deals with exclusive brands.
The beverage sector in which Onesti Group operates is a very diverse one, with a plethora of companies and products-how do you make your choices? What are the guiding criteria?
As far as all branded products are concerned, the choice is made first and foremost by the market: it is the market that demands and chooses, just as it is the manufacturing companies that make choices and marketing campaigns. We have more than 1,600 references in our assortment, precisely to best meet the demands of our customers, and we are always available for consultations or to research the products they request. Products distributed exclusively, on the other hand, are selected differently and with special care: the great knowledge we have of the beverage market and experience come to our aid. Very often we take action precisely when we become aware of a particular need of the operators or when we realize a "gap" in the market, trying in this case to be proactive.
I imagine that there are beverage production companies with whom you have been collaborating for the distribution of their products for many years, so you have certainly become "luminaries" in the sector over time.
How have beverage companies changed in your opinion over the past 20/30 years?
What are the main differences, if any, between Italian and non-Italian companies?
We have certainly been collaborating with companies for several years, and over time relationships of cooperation and information exchange have arisen.
In the last 20 to 30 years there has been a strong evolution: today there is an increasing focus on product and packaging, marketing strategies. Declining consumption and increasing competition have led large production companies to focus more and more on the end consumer.
I don't see big differences between Italian and non-Italian companies, I definitely see a difference between small companies and multinationals that are structured and usually have a more rigid hierarchy.
How is your company operationally organized, with in-house employees and staff or do you mainly rely on external intermediaries?
OnestiGroup is structured in two main units: the first one deals with the traditional business concerning service products and their distribution to wholesalers in the ho.re.ca channel our customers and to large retailers, the second one deals with the selection and distribution of exclusive products. The company base is 40 people between offices and warehouse, all of them direct employees. All area heads and area managers are also internal to the company. In the central south alone we rely on a sales network of about 40 multi-firm agents specializing in the beverage sector.
The world of large-scale retail, to which a large part of your marketing activity is destined, is a very complex world that has to be known deeply from the inside, with logics that only those who work there can fully understand. You who know it so well, how do you see it projected into the future? In your experience is it going to move more and more toward the concept of megastores, hypermarkets, or do you see possible a return to a capillarization of sales locations such as small, more sectoral and qualified supermarkets?
Small surfaces are experiencing a period of flourishing. It was thought that the large megastores might disappear and that there would be a return to small and medium-sized surfaces. In reality, in our experience, small and large will continue to coexist, due to the logic of covering the territory, and will increasingly perform different functions: the megastore will become more and more a place of entertainment, while the small area will serve more and more for everyday life.
For some years now, you have begun a business branch diversification activity by introducing the exclusive import of some high-end products, alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
(For the knowledge of the many products we refer those who read us to the consultation of your website www.onestigroup.com ), but can you tell us how you make these choices, on which market segments you propose these types of products and how you act to promote product knowledge on the part of the Italian user?
We always look for products with the best value for money and on our side we have experience and a great knowledge of the market in which we operate, so in the selection we are based above all on the demands of the operators in our sector. In order to publicize the brands we exclusively distribute, we mainly use a competent and trained sales force. Our website, which is always up-to-date, and frequent communications sen'zaltro help us to inform our customers. We also take part in various initiatives that put us in direct contact with professionals, such as nationwide trade fairs.
I would now like to ask you a slightly more personal question, free to not answer. Being a large family of entrepreneurs engaged in the same business is unquestionably an advantage, but it also involves a great sense of responsibility, a strong commitment. Do you sometimes feel this as a professional constraint?
Certainly being an entrepreneur today is a great responsibility, especially when I think of all the people who work in the company: you have to work well and be a team because everyone's future depends on it. Otherwise, I do a job I enjoy in a fascinating industry, so I certainly can't complain.
We are witnessing in recent years a phenomenon of early alcoholism. Many teens, even very young ones are looking to alcohol for some shortcut to ward off a certain generational discomfort, adolescence is a very complicated time for every human being and each generation sublimates in its own way, yet the phenomenon is becoming massified and rampant. How does a large company such as yours, so serious and attentive, deal with this problem?
Thereckless use of alcohol is a problem we feel strongly about, which is precisely why this year we decided to collaborate with RG Commerciale in organizing "Bartender for a Night," an evening format that supports responsible drinking, offering two products for cocktail preparation: a completely non-alcoholic product, "Batida Colada," and a product with only 7.5 percent alcohol, "Reàl Sangria Cruz Garcia."We are deeply convinced that the message of conscious drinking is to be continuously conveyed to the public along with the concept of drinking well.
In your business sector you are certainly a leading company, but since you have always moved ahead of the market needs I ask you: is there a business dream in the drawer, a goal that Onesti Group has not yet achieved and that you are pursuing, do you want/can you talk about it?
We are definitely focusing all our efforts to expand the channel of exclusive brand distribution and make it a commercial pillar of our business. It is a project that takes time and method, but we are spending our efforts so that this little dream of ours can come true.
For more information: www.onestigroup.com
Interview by Monica Palla
