Craving MIDO: a talk with De Rigo Group.
Today, 2nd May 2022, the 2022 edition of MIDO will close its doors, and we wanted to end our cycle of interviews carried out under the banner of "Craving MIDO" with a historical figure: Ennio De Rigo, Order of Merit for Labour and Chairman of the De Rigo Group. His company is strongly rooted in the territory and has always placed the value of human resources at the centre. For this reason, together with his wife, Emiliana, the current Vice-Chairman of the Group, they have donated 1.2 million euros of their personal assets to their employees.
In this interview, Ennio De Rigo offers us a snapshot of the "human" of his company.
In today’s eyewear industry, you are the only large international company to be still family-run: how, in your opinion, has this been possible?
It’s easy: we love our company. Although we received various offers in the past to take over the De Rigo Group, we always refused. For the future, we want to continue as a family-run company. We are now into the second generation, and our horizons are continually evolving, but our original character remains the same.
Another important fact, which is also your distinctive feature, is the low turnover of staff...
Yes, we have many people who have worked with us for years. The average stay in our company is 18 years... they have become attached to us. You’re right: this is one of our advantages over other companies in the industry.
We are united, we are a team. Behind our “numbers”, there are always people. There are of course problems, and always will be, but we are confident about the future because De Rigo is an “extended family” made up of dedication and professionalism.
Your habit of putting employees at the centre of everything led you and your wife Emiliana, current vice-chairperson of the Group, to give them 1.2 million euro from your personal funds. Can you tell us why you did this?
This was a decision that my wife and I took in January, because we realised the difficult situation of the categories most struck by the economic crisis linked to Covid 19, and we wanted to give some concrete support to families in the region to help cover the rising cost of living. There were 870 factory workers and office staff who received a bonus in their April pay packet.
We don’t believe we can resolve their problems simply with this act, but we wanted to help them. For us it was a pleasure, a spontaneous gesture, and we did it out of love for our company, to show our appreciation of the De Rigo Vision and De Rigo Refrigeration employees. The relationship that we have with the people who work in De Rigo has always been close, as a family-run business, and could not be otherwise. We believe in these values, and we try to transmit them to the people who work with us.
We are a company born in this region. Eyewear, for us, is a family trade in all senses. It’s an adventure that started in 1978, in a barn of Pozzale di Cadore, in the heart of the Dolomites, and which expanded throughout Italy to arrive worldwide, while always maintaining its deep roots in the region. A region to which we are inextricably linked, because it was our brand Lozza, set up in 1878, that launched the Belluno eyewear district.
The culture, history and traditions of this place have always influenced the way we work and link us to its people, towards whom we feel a strong sense of moral responsibility.
How did your employees respond to the gesture?
We received lots of e-mails, telephone calls, messages of thanks. They even took out a page in the newspaper to thank us! Even people who did not receive the bonus appreciated the gesture. The reaction was touching: I knew it would make an impression, but it was much bigger than I imagined.
Finally, MIDO is back in person... how do you feel about this event?
I have participated in all 50 editions of the MIDO fair. For eyewear companies, particularly the Made-in-Italy sector, this event has acted as a launch pad into the international market: at the beginning, the companies involved were small and did not have the strength or skills to enter other markets, but MIDO gave them the opportunity to reach all corners of the world. Obviously, its role has adapted to suit the changing needs of the industry.
This year, finally, the fair is back in face-to-face format after the two years of pandemic.
It is a festive event, because being back together is already a positive thing.
We feel a huge need to meet up with our customers, to talk to them, and draw from this exchange of ideas all the strength necessary to face the challenges of the present and the coming future!