Profit with culture

Swarovski, 14,000 employees, revenue 1.67 billion euro, but also 800 events organised every year in Italy alone. Not only an economic organism, but also a conveyor of culture.

How does it feel today to be defined as a multinational company? Proud or flattered?
Uneasy. In any case, it’s a word that has been outdated by what is now called globalisation. There is a need for widespread economic growth, of the kind however that will take into consideration mainly the ensuing sustainable environmental impacts, one that is capable of achieving a proper balance between location and social structure.
Hourly wages in some third and fourth world countries are extremely low compared to our standards, but in relation to the cost of life in those areas they allow them to lead a dignified life.
Economic growth and improved life expectations entail planning wage policies which are not based on exploitation but instead aimed at achieving a balanced distribution of wealth, today strongly biased in favour of first world countries.

Swarovski puts an enormous amount of effort into implementing publishing projects, exhibitions, events. Is this an alternative form of publicity or is it a matter of greater awareness of the social role the company is called upon to play?
I strongly believe in social roles. Companies must endeavour to play this role; their task is certainly that of creating wealth, well-being and employment, but it is becoming more and more essential for them to support and promote culture, in the broadest possible sense of the word. Companies must pursue the same role that the “Prince” had during the Renaissance: being the promoter of art. Today, for obvious budget-related reasons, the government is forced to cut investments normally destined to support culture. This is a role that companies can have: replacing the State in its role of enlightened patron. Even though culture is often promoted not for its own sake but rather to achieve specific strategic goals, disseminating knowledge enriches the recipient social structure.

What does it mean today to speak about “marketing plans”?
Communication plans are based mainly on advertising, on the careful arrangement of exhibition spaces, on leading articles and on events. In particular, leading articles present the company’s views through the journalist who is the person enjoying great credibility on behalf of the readers.
Events, on the other hand, are characterised by an innovative aspect because they are a form of direct contact with the actual consumer (who comes into contact with a novelty item) or with the potential consumer (who might, thanks to the event itself, fall in love with the product). Events can express the company’s soul in a profound and direct way, through an occasion that is not only commercial but also cultural.

What roles will the companies of the future have to play? Commodity suppliers or those who project values?
Products can no longer rely only on their material appearance because the value of a commodity is increasingly less embodied in the material with which the product was manufactured, tending instead to be crystallised in ethical elements. Ethicality is a fundamental chromosome in every company’s DNA, but it shouldn’t materialise solely in the form of a given instrumental asset. Performing ethical actions is mandatory, advertising them is not indispensable.
The Swarovski family, for instance, has always viewed ethics as one of its fundamental values; indeed, already back in the Twenties, the company had envisaged the possibility for its employees to purchase their homes by means of long-term no interest mortgage plans and, most important of all, without any obligation to stay with the company. To those who accused Swarovski of trusting its employees too much, the company replied that “the more a person feels confident in terms of economic and human satisfaction, the less he/she will feel the need to quit his/her job”. A great precursor of times, no doubt.

Some companies try to detach themselves from their specific product in order to share a world of values with their consumers; to what extent can Swarovski afford to be detached from crystal? Is it a matter of acquiring legitimacy in other fields?
In our view, crystal is a raw material but, mostly, it is a means to convey emotions. It can become an object embodying functional aspects but, when struck by a sunray, its facets will capture it, refracting it in the colours of the rainbow. In this case it bypasses its functional aspect to arouse positive feelings. It is difficult for us to detach ourselves from crystal because crystal is in itself a significance which, if properly declined, generates significance which reflect the joy of life, emotions and beauty in a vision which becomes similar to poetry.
Its beauty is of a democratic type, based on a philosophy whereby it is incarnated in the form of a right that belongs to humanity, as part of life’s values, and not as a privilege reserved for the very few.
Swarovski products are exclusive but at the same time they are available in great quantities on the market, to generate profit not only in terms of mere economic returns but also in terms of a greater widespread of social and cultural enrichment.