I n this week’s ‘stay with the executive column’, The Ethiopian Herald had an exclusive interview with the Luxury Windows Italia Group Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Pancione couple months ago when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its early stage in Italy. The Interview was held here in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia when Giuseppe Pancione was exploring market opportunities here. Excerpts! Name: Giuseppe Pancione Company Name: Luxury Windows Italia (LWI) Job Rank: Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) I am the CEO of Luxury Windows Italia (LWI). Luxury Windows Italia is the biggest network in the world when it comes to windows and doors. It has offices all over the world. It is now flexing muscles to join the Ethiopian market and establish the market in the country because it has realized that there is a luxury market here. Especially, currently, the market is booming across the country. The construction is expanding fast and we are ready to provide for the very luxury houses. And we are also set to supply basic products for big constructions because the standard market here is basic. Then, there are rich people that want to have high class houses. So, they need to have good products for their luxury life. After we undertook market research, we decided to come to Ethiopia. As I said earlier , we have offices distributed all over the world, and using our offices we make researches. We have come to notice the current potential opportunities here after we realized that the population and the economy is growing, but especially when I am saying that the population is growing, it means that you will need to build more houses, hospitals, schools, cars and what have you? Because unlike the reality in Europe with the same population for the last 20 years, still people will have kids. To illustrate the comparison, in Europe since the last 20 years people are having at most one kid or two kids. But here, everybody is a very nice and large -sized family. It is really a very different situation here.Almost all Africa is growing but Ethiopia is growing faster than other places. I am pretty sure that the market in Ethiopia is encouraging for companies like that of mine engaged in the construction sector. Luxury Windows Italia is looking for big towers, multistory houses, new airports, shopping centers and big markets in the next few years as Ethiopia’s economy is growing and evens the population. So there will be high need for infrastructure, new hospitals and hotels’ expansion. Luxury window Italia has different products such as a complete range of products, and aluminum works for basic products. It can give wood, steel, bullet proof windows and brown window. It has huge experience in working presidential houses, sheik houses and ministerial houses. It has a hallmark skill with high end products. Supplying for Europe alone it is not growing anymore. So we are looking to engage in new markets. We are very comfortable with Africa and I fee that Africans are very comfortable with Italians. We have many things in common, and definitely I can say that we shall succeed in the pursuit of our calling. Italian products are in a luxury market usually when one thinks about Italy one thinks about using Italian supercar makers Ferrari and Lamborghini, when one thinks about cloths and brands one thinks about hundreds of brands Italian brands in the world. Therefore, the rich people here in Ethiopia are very rich, they come to Europe, Northern America and Australia, they love Italian brands. Thus, they want to have something that is a high class one. So, LWI is ready to serve this people, but, we also want to serve the person that falls in the medium level and let us say basic class with the standard products. LWI will join the Ethiopian market. The task is going to be tough due to the several products coming in bulk from the east. However, it is ready to win over the market with very best quality products. What is expected from people is to understand the cheap products that will easily break up and the basic products say windows and doors that will stay for life long. So, we are ready to give this culture to everybody and we can say that we could succeed in our business. For the next 202, I am sure that with our own office here in Ethiopia we will be well established in Ethiopia with our workers. As far as Luxury Windows Italia is concerned, it is the leader of an open network of companies that stems from a specific market need: providing the best service and satisfying all the needs of its customers with a new dynamic. Luxury Windows Italia has developed a custommade service that integrates craftsmanship with the best technologies in order to provide the best tools for the realization of your projects in every detail: fixtures, doors, gates, furnishings, stairs, curtains, garages, flooring, walls, lighting systems and much more. It is a customized service especially crafted for Architects and professionals. It offers a high-personalized bespoke service, and delivers a full interior architecture, Italian-made furniture design, and turnkey styling service from concept through completion.
The Ethiopian Herald April 5/2020
BY HAFTU GEBREZGABIHER
