Hi Silvano, thank you for your willingness to answer a few questions about your business and the Tuttopress publishing house. For me, and I think it is also for those who follow us, it is really interesting to be able to talk about'HO.RE.CA. through the words and experience of an entrepreneur in the field of sector publishing, because I believe that few people like you possess such a privileged observatory of the Italian situation and of Italy placed in a more international context. For those who would like to get a more precise idea of Tuttopress and its publications we suggest visiting www.tuttopress.com, but I would like it if you would briefly summarize the various titles you publish, of which you are editor in chief, and especially when they were born and to meet what needs.
R. Tuttopress Editrice was born in 1983 with the monthly magazine Il Mondo della Birra at a time when beers from all over the world were arriving on our market, beer was considered by younger consumers as an alternative to their parents' traditional drink: wine. In addition, beer had an international appeal, which created a lot of curiosity. The magazine devoted entirely to beer immediately caught on with great success since even among insiders information about the product was practically nonexistent and the demand for information was enormous. It was precisely on the basis of this consideration that we aimed our publication almost exclusively at those who dealt with beer professionally: producers, importers, wholesalers, brewery owners, and purchasing managers of large retailers, who could find useful information on the pages of the magazine about types of beer, characteristics, origin, brewing countries, culture, traditions, and festivals. To this day the magazine is a leader in its field. Later, in 1995 we started to edit LOCALI TOP a monthly magazine dedicated to the most qualified horeca channel (hotels, bars, restaurants). Since there were already a couple of publications on the market that addressed all public establishments, with the new magazine we decided to target the most prestigious establishments: hotels 3-4-5 stars, restaurants featured in the various guides, trendy bars. The contents of the magazine, always aimed at insiders ( bartenders, bartenders, restaurateurs, hotel purchasing managers) were therefore selected according to this type of readers with particular reference to companies and products very oriented to this channel of consumption. More recently we have edited a publication, Drink 'n Food dedicated to all those public establishments that operate within large facilities such as: Shopping Centers, Train Stations, Airports, Amusement Parks, etc. With this publication we have deepened our presence in the horeca channel by going, however, to privilege information and products particularly suitable for this channel that requires types of products, often different from the traditional horeca channel. In this sector where establishments work in large numbers and often with a high concentration of customers at particular times or days, the interest is in ready-to-serve products, easy to serve, with single-serving formats. This is a very dynamic and counter-trend sector, in other words, growing for many reasons that would require further study. In 2011, another publication entered our scope of work. It is GBI (Grossisti Bevande Italia), the official organ of the Federation of Italgrob wholesalers, which decided at the beginning of the year to entrust us with the management of their magazine. The beverage wholesaler is the intermediary between production and the point of sale. His role is to assist the point of sale in all its needs in terms of beverages and often food as well: from the supply of mineral water, to soft drinks, to aperitifs but a big role he plays in draught products, such as beer, dive deals with the installation of equipment, maintenance, and the supply of kegs. With this publication, we have added another piece to our specialization in providing information to the most qualified public establishment sector. The universe of the public establishment is by its very nature vast, very pulverized over about 300 thousand outlets each with its own history, peculiarities, specialization, needs and generally with few opportunities to update, to access information useful for their evolution.
I have noticed that your publishing house is not limited to the publication of magazines in the sector, but exercises a broader and more referential role with the participation in many events and also with your personal presence or organization at important conferences and meetings concerning the future of this sector. So who better than you can tell us: but what is the future of this sector? First of all, how does Italy rank in proportion to other countries in terms of importance, turnover and innovations in the sector?
R.About the future of the sector, given the strong inclusion in the society in which it operates, it is undoubtedly linked to the country's performance. This is my consideration in general. In Italy we have 415 catering establishments per 100,000 inhabitants. At the European Union level there are 291 and 361 in the eurozone. Compared to other countries, Italy has a strong share of consumption outside the home, around 45 percent compared to other European countries that consume more within the home. It should be said that consumption outside the home tended to grow until 1997, then remained stable until 2008 and then began to decline .Forecasts in 1995 talked about being able to reach 100billion € by 2015. Hopefully in the future today we are around 70 million €. In this crisis that has affected many sectors, including public establishments, there are undoubtedly exceptions, establishments that even in times of crisis work and succeed thanks to the skills and professionalism of their managers. We are not a target of the horeca world in general, since with our magazines we cover and follow only a part of this segment. If I had to make an assessment I would say that the establishments that work successfully are a small percentage compared to those that survive. In the bar and restaurant world I think they do not exceed 40 percent, in the hotel industry we reach 60-70 percent, while in nightclubs we drop to 30 percent. In short, there is a strong generic offer and a low qualified offer, in the face, moreover, of a consumer-customer who has less and less money to spend and when he spends it, he is more and more demanding in terms of service and products.
Who pushes the sector most? The merchants, the bartenders, the chefs, the venue owners, or is it the food, beverage and equipment reference industry that keeps the sector afloat? Do these two parties communicate with each other, or is each looking only at their own specifics?
R.I would say that in all categories: producers, exhibitors, bartenders, chefs, etc. there are those who do a lot with training activities, proposal of new products and services, research of new proposals and new products, and others who do nothing except complain if things don't turn around when they should. As for the industry world, there are companies that have structured themselves for the horeca channel, they know the sector very well, they have dedicated men and products, they carry out targeted initiatives i collaboration with the wholesaler, with the retailer, others have interest mainly in the home consumption channel and therefore in the horeca they are there but with little attention. They are often present on the rebound through modern distribution and therefore all activities and investments are directed in that direction.
Do you think that today in Italy there is sufficient professionalism in the area of venue management, a suitable preparation that would allow a development, a future?
R.Horeca professionals are a minority today and will probably remain so in the future. The current crisis and the consequent closure of many businesses continues to push many people to open a bar or restaurant without having the slightest experience. The difference, compared to the past, is that until the 1990s the market helped the "daring" today even professionals struggle. A note about training. Participating as a journalist in various training events (beer tapping, cocktail making, etc.) the most numerically significant presence was professionally good managers. In other words the professionals are always interested in learning those with no art or no part do not attend except for the minimum required to get a license. There will be development in the future, I want to be optimistic, but I don't think it will be general again but will be related to new proposals and professionals who will grow at the expense of other operators.
Recently you organized a major conference (International HO.RE.CA. Meeting) organized through your magazine Drink 'n Food dedicated to precisely these issues and comarketing and promotion of the sector. How did it go? What were the most interesting topics that emerged?
R.To be precise, the International Horeca Meeting event was organized by Italgrob, so the magazine involved was GBI. In the two-day event attended by representatives from industry, wholesale and retail, varin times were discussed ranging from credit (big problem that of payments) to training and co-marketing initiatives, to initiatives for the development of the horeca channel. Representatives from Confesercenti and Confcommercio were also present. All agreed in evaluating the horeca channel a sector that must evolve by researching its role in a fast-changing society about lifestyles, needs related to work and leisure. Each individual public establishment has to interpret the role that customers demand, sometimes expanding its offerings, others specializing in a concentrated but high quality offering
If you from the height of your long and in-depth experience could with a magic wand change something in the trend of this sector, make significant improvements, where would you focus attention, change?
A.There is no lack of experience, but since I do not have a magic wand, I gladly leave this arduous task to the representatives of the category of public establishments and the many associations operating in the sector. I personally try, through the publications I direct, to make information about products, people and companies, so that those who work in the sector have more knowledge of what is around them. I don't tend to do training in the educational sense because I don't think a magazine can replace a live training course.
If any practitioners would like to be able to contact you, would you like it to be through the publishing house or would you prefer to entertain yourself through social networks, groups or otherwise ?
R.I definitely prefer that you contact me at the editorial office or by e-mail. Since 1985 Tuttopress has been using the Mac (it was a 512) for editing (we were among the first publishers, in those years only Montanelli's Il Giornale used PC computers the others were still on typewriters), for mail, for documenting, for booking trips. By personal choice ( and to save myself some spare time I do not enter the world of blogs and social networks. I have, in this case, very gladly responded to the request to speak out of esteem for a communications professional.
Interview by Monica Palla
