In typical Italian style, Furla is keeping its decades-long heritage steeped in tradition and all in the family.
Four of Aldo Furlanetto’s seven children — Giovanna, Carlo, Paolo and Pierantonio — took roles in the business, and so far, the accessories genes stream through four of Aldo’s grandsons. They have steadily and readily joined the company to put experience under their Furla belts.
The third generation in the business includes Michele, Marco and Filippo Furlanetto, the sons of Carlo, and Giuseppe Costato, Giovanna’s son. The other Furlanetto grandchildren do not work in
the company.
The four who did join are all in their 30s and each has embraced a variety of roles to grasp the full picture and gain hands-on experience.
The eldest is Michele, 37, who has a degree in business and economics from the University of Bologna. He later attended New York University, and received a marketing diploma.
After settling in America, where he set up Furla U.S. in 1994, he returned to Bologna and became international sales manager.
When Furla entered the footwear market in 2001, Michele managed that sector and licensing departments, and now heads Furla U.K.
Marco, 35, also has a business degree from the University of Bologna and later attended the University College of Dublin.
He joined Furla in 1994 as area manager and was appointed product manager in 1999. He currently oversees points of sales and corners.
Filippo, 33, is the youngest of Carlo’s sons and graduated with a law degree from the University of Bologna.
In 1997, he moved to Paris to set up Furla France. Three years later, he returned to Bologna, where he headed sales for central Italy and later the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East.
In 2003, he moved back to Paris to manage the growing French division and today is responsible for markets that don’t have Furla branch offices.
Giuseppe Costato, 34, is setting up Furla’s e-commerce Web site that will be launched globally in 2008. It will be designed as a virtual Furla shop.
Costato joined the company in 1997 and spent a year at Furla U.S., then moved on to supervise the firm’s directly owned stores and open new outposts.