Ducati Sells Adult Toys says CEO
During the recent Ducati North America dealer meeting in Miami, Dealernews had the opportunity to chat with Ducati CEO, Gabriele Del Torchio. During the interview Del Torchio remarked that Ducati was essentially a premium manufacturer making toys for adults. No, not those ones!
The CEO talked about his 6 major objectives for the company, the most important of which, was the mission statement. Del Torchio confirmed that Ducati will remain a premium brand and not deviate from that position and will retain its historic commitment to racing.
Then come 5 objectives: product, quality, process, distribution and brand reputation.
Ducati has taken the view that the product life cycle should be accelerated and so has continued to heavily invest in R&D even during the global economic crisis. We have seen this with the introduction of the Multistrada 1200 in 2010 and the Diavel this year. Both models are unique Ducati takes on existing segments that are new to the company (Cagiva Elefant and Ducati Indiana notwithstanding). Look for more of this category expansion in the future. Of course 2012 will be all about the Ducati 1199 Panigale.
On quality the company has made great strides with the number of failures during the warranty period decreasing 54%. Ducati can claim to be the best European manufacturer now in this area but still trails the Japanese companies. It is important to recognize that there is also an emotional aspect to quality that is particularly important to Ducati.
“There are two elements of quality, one is functional and the second is emotional. Being a premium manufacturer selling toys for adults, I believe it’s very important to provide an emotional quality to our customer.”
It seems that the CEO has been able to drive modern business practices with respect to process and controls through the company and that has been paying dividends. There is also a large focus on the importance of distribution, the dealer network. Ducati claims that it treats its dealers as partners rather than customers.
Next on the list is brand reputation which is a critical component for a company that offers premium products. Ducati has made great strides here as evidenced by their success in product placement and subsequent brand recognition. Earlier this year, Ducati was ranked second only to Apple in product placement.
Finally the Ducati boss made it clear that 2012 will be the year of the Superbike as the company looks to reassert itself in this performance segment after two years of introducing models into new segments.
“This is the year of the superbike. We want to clearly confirm that the SB is inside our DNA, and want to demonstrate our intention to remain a benchmark. Obviously we have ideas for the future. I believe we cannot be confined to a few segments, and it’s important to keep a premium position, but it is very important to expand to other segments….. My view for the future, is to explore new territories.”
Yesterday, Ducati revealed details of the Superquadro engine that will power the Ducati 1199 Panigale. Checkout our Superquadro image gallery and video.
link: Dealernews
Opening photo via Growing Your Baby
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very interesting article- kinda. so ducati will retain it’s “historic commitment to racing” huh? imo, with the current motogp debacle, checa winning wsbk (without factory support) maybe ducati should focus more on a commitment to historic racing.
i once read nori haga preferred sbk’s to motogp bikes because they are analog, not digital. amen brother!
and so product cycles should be accelerated huh? big mistake. the classic duc’s- monsters, 900 ss/sp’s, 916′s, 748′s, etc are icons of motorcycling. the new ones are disposible. and accelerated product cycles will make them even more so. ask porsche why the 911 is the most successful sportscar ever.
the adult toys thing is too silly to even address- but i will anyway! the day my wife brings a ducati “neck massager” into the bedroom i will die in fits of laughter. imagine riding a trojan lifestyles down the road. roll on trojan, roll on!