Dear Mr. Serge BRUNSCHWIG, Fendi’s Chairman & CEO, Dear Mr. Giuseppe OLIVERI, Fendi’s Worldwide Managing Director Retail & Wholesale, Dear Ms. Gabriella MONCADA, Fendi’s Worldwide Private Client Relations Director, Dear Mr. Shintaro KITSUDA, Fendi Japan’s President & Representative Director, Ladies and Gentlemen, dear guests,
Buonasera and welcome to the Residence of the Italian Ambassador in Tokyo!
My wife Sabina and I are very pleased to celebrate, with you all, the Roman heritage luxury brand Fendi and its new flagship store “Palazzo Fendi Omotesando”, that we have just inaugurated. Congratulations!
“Palazzo Fendi Omotesando” in Tokyo, with its references to the emblematic “Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana” at the EUR area in Rome, represents the ultimate expression of Fendi’s unique brand identity: a perfect merge between a classic heritage and modernity. Let me say that, in a rainy night like today, the elegance and the tradition of the iconic Roman brand shine up even brighter and stronger.
Tonight’s flowers decorations together with this evocative view of the Residence’s garden remind us of the beauty and the colors of Rome, which – as everybody knows – is home to Fendi. In 1926, in the Capital of Italy, Edoardo e Adele Fendi opened their first boutique in Via del Plebiscito. Since then, the brand has been synonymous with high quality and excellence and the fashion house has contributed, all over the years, in setting high the standards of Made in Italy, by taking the image and the values of the Italian lifestyle around the world.
I am pleased to remark the main role played by avant-garde Italian companies, like Fendi, in turning Italian fashion not only into something desirable and longed for, but also into a leading sector in Italian export worldwide, including Japan. Japanese customers perceive Fendi as an astounding expression of luxury and uniqueness. It is therefore not surprising, though still fascinating, how the brand has come a long way in this beautiful country.
The famous “FF” logo, created in 1966, travelled in the same year all the way to Japan, marking the beginning of a thriving journey. A venture that has proven very successful as todays Japan accounts for almost 30% of total sales globally for the fashion house. While visiting Tokyo, one can indeed find several Fendi stores, each of which reveals the brand’s distinctive identity deeply rooted in the history of Italy.
But Fendi looks and cares also about the future, since the brand has been focusing in the last years on sustainability and social responsibility, increasingly investing in the new generations and making them protagonists of the evolution of the brand. This objective, under the idea of valuing people and territories, is also the core principle of the Rome’s candidature to host, in 2030, the Universal Exposition that we are promoting – together with the Special Ambassador Bernardini, who is here with us tonight – with a view of joining the forces to promote a sustainable future.
Let me conclude by wishing Fendi the best success in Japan and let me congratulate again for the opening of the “Palazzo Fendi Omotesando”.
Campai, salute!