The Italian way to e-commerce to conquer global markets

Column by Francesco Grillo for the Italian newspaper Sole 24 ore.

Can Europe ever have its own Amazon? The question seems to be irreverently answered by Sole 24 Ore's latest ranking of the fastest-growing Italian companies. For the period from January 2020 to December 2022 - the one marked by the pandemic that stopped the world from changing it for good - the winner is an e-commerce platform that managed to multiply its turnover faster between its third and fifth year than Jeff Bezos did with Amazon twenty years ago. Obviously, the differences between PANCOP in Monte di Procida (province of Naples) and its Seattle model are much greater than the similarities. And yet, interesting messages come from the ranking.

Entrepreneurs dedicated to renewables are winning (they make up 9% of the top 100, compared to the energy sector's weight on the national GDP, which is 3%); those that develop digital platforms (dedicated to specialised products or finance) using artificial intelligence to bring supply and demand together. There is no lack of cases of pure 'Made in Italy' innovation in agrifood and hospitality/tourism. While the 110% knock-on effect is evident, which - amidst justified criticism - has nonetheless boosted those (such as TECHBAU) who are modernising the same buildings. Remote working' opens up opportunities to innovateeven far from large urban centres: Siena, Saluzzo, Trento, Cuneo, Carrara, Benevento are home to companies with more than 100 million euro in turnover and annual growth rates of more than 30%. And this also overturns old narratives: there are more growing companies in Campania than in Piedmont.

Underlying five hundred different stories is a unique approach: finding a distinctive positioning along the chain of ecological and digital mutations that are changing the nature of all industries; perceiving themselves as part of global markets; with a maniacal attention to detail behind which hides the devil of failure that is physiological for those who grow.

The stars of the Silicon Valley are a model for any entrepreneur. And yet, as a recent study on the impact of digital platforms (carried out by the consultancy Vision & Value with the support of Amazon) tells us, it is possible to create competitive advantages even over those models.If one starts by identifying a widespread problem (e.g. sustainability) that technologies have not solved. And if the financial markets are large and sophisticated enough to accompany innovation.

It is true that the Italian company that won the Sole24Ore's ranking grew more than Amazon in its early years.However, it is also true that Jeff Bezos three years after arriving in Seattle, he had already found the partners to go public.Partners sufficiently ambitious to wait seven years before seeing the first profit from an idea that had meanwhile begun to change the world.Surpassing five billion dollars in turnover.