Leadership Talk. Maurizio Marinella and the art of tie
13 November 2019This is the story of elegance par excellence: Marinella, historical brand of tailored ties and accessories, now owned by the third generation in its 104 years of life. The leadership Global MBA students is Maurizio Marinella, Eugenio’s nephew, who opened the shop in 1914, in Riviera di Chiaia.
“In those days, elegance was French for women and English for men, and my grandfather set himself the goal of dressing Neapolitan nobility in an English way”.
A precise project, which, after the difficulties of the two world wars, established itself in Neaples and then in the world, up to Japan.
“A miracle, that’s the only word to describe this adventure: from a shop of 20sqm to the neck of the most important men of the world”. All the Presidents of the Italian Republic, most of the American Presidents and many other famous people have chosen Eugenio Marinella’s ties. “My father told me one day that I would start working in the store because I had grown up. I was eight years old”.
In his story Maurizio Marinella retraces the most important steps of the company, emphasizing how attention to quality, style and the sense of belonging to Neaples and the family were the elements of success of the brand. “When I asked my father why all my friends were playing football when I had to stay in the shop instead, he replied that it was more important for me to breathe that atmosphere made of fabrics and crafts”.
Maurizio Marinella continued his grandfather’s dream thanks to a far-sighted and value-conscious entrepreneurial vision: “I began to emancipate myself from paternal protection when I chose to introduce yellow and blue pullovers as well as blue and brown ones, and they were the first that we sold”. His is a story full of anecdotes: “I personally delivered the ties to our customers outside Neaples, and one day I returned home with the car full of sauces and packets of pasta that Paolo Barilla had given me to apologize for having ordered only 70 ties”, he recalls with a smile.
“There have been many difficulties over the years, but having a dream to deliver means that everything continues even in the most challenging moments. In Italian to describe a lucky person, we say: he was born with a shirt. Well I was certainly born with a tie!”.
