La Marzocco and the American Dream, the company founded by the Bambi Brothers has become an icon in the U.S. and Australia. By Piero Negri
The true meaning of the ‘made in Italy’ concept is not easy to grasp, but a visit to Scarperia – a town that is not very distant from Florence – can maybe clear that up. Relocated here, since 2009, is the historical factory of high quality coffee machines of La Marzocco, established in 1927 by the Bambi brothers, and named after the symbol of the company itself: a seated lion supporting the Florentine fleur-de-lys, a historical emblem symbolising victory. La Marzocco – who since 1994 has had Americans as its principal shareholder, although Piero Bambi, a descendent of the founders, is still the much respected honorary president – does its best to honour its name and all that it symbolises and, in spite of times of economic crisis, is experiencing continued growth (with a turnover of 27 million), distributing coffee machines in one hundred countries around the world, thanks to its branches in London, Melbourne, Milan, Seattle and Seoul.
On the company’s logo, underneath the heraldic lion, one is inevitably struck by the words “Made in Florence”: Chris Salierno, an American from Miami, son of an Italian citizen from Capri, and Marketing Director of La Marzocco, also interprets these words to mean a ‘handmade’ or ‘handcrafted’ product: “La Marzocco is a worldwide quality benchmark, while artisanship is the added value of our products. This can be compared to a tailor who designs made-to-measure fashion; in fact, our machines are made of stainless steel which is unsuitable for mass production. Essentially, to produce everything in Scarperia, and have everything made by hand is fundamental”.
The irony, or the whole point of this, is that La Marzocco is better known abroad than in Italy (“USA, Australia, the United Kingdom, especially London, and Korea are our most important markets – as Guido Bernardinelli, La Marzocco’s Managing Director explains), and the concept of ‘made in Italy’ or ‘made in Florence’ seems to be more appealing beyond the territory rather than within it, so much so that recently, as Salierno further explains, “a team has been set up and shall be solely focused on the Italian market, which is for us a challenge and a matter of pride: a machine sold in Milan is for us a triple satisfaction”.
La Marzocco has had quite a unique destiny (even this is a “made in Italy” trait) since it went directly from a provincial market to an international one, skipping many intermediary steps: how this happened is an interesting story, and is intertwined with the path also followed by Starbucks, the international fast-food chain in the coffee sector. “In the sixties – Salierno recounts – a restaurant owner from Seattle, in the North West of the United States, came to Italy to look for suppliers for his shop. A friend of a friend mentioned La Marzocco, and eventually he left Florence with the first American coffee machine. By a twist of fate it was right in Seattle that Starbucks was established, and for a long time – when there was a real effort to try to introduce the Italian-style bar in the United States – La Marzocco coffee machines were the ones most used. At the time the American market constituted 95% of our turnover, and out of that market, 95% was linked to Starbucks. But things have now changed; Starbucks has kept our products only in their flagship stores, and Australia is worth almost as much as the USA for us, and it is probably in Australia that one can have the best espresso abroad”.
It is reported that the coffee sector, from bean to cup, accounts for the livelihood of 125 million persons: “Since we specialise in espresso and coffee machines – concludes Salierno – our share shall always be a small one, but the good news is that there is much room for growth, especially in those places around the world where consumers discover the true meaning of quality”.