The F.lli Marchesi Bakery has three shops in the city: the first in Boccaleone which has been open since 1960, the second in Borgo Palazzo and the third in Piazza Pontida.
Together with the Urban District of Commerce we met Roberto Marchesi, almost forty years old and third generation of the family. He told us the story of the bakery during his management which started after an intense succession in 2012.
"It was laborious!" He says with a half-smile.
He, unlike many other traders, was not in a shop as a child and didn’t work his way up by occupying all the roles within the bakery. Instead, he has a degree in economics and business and a long work experience history, mostly in Milan. There he was in charge of organising events and for four years he was the manager and area coordinator for the Artisan Trade Fair.
Roberto is concrete and determined, always looking for new challenges and with a true entrepreneurial vision.
"We see further ahead than them and we must continually fight with a ‘we have always done it this way’.”
However, when in 2012 he told his father that he wanted to take over the store "they felt reassured by my professional experience: I already had their full trust."
But it was a long and challenging journey: "When I was a boy they said I was messy and shallow." Then they watched him work with passion and seriousness and, with the right timing, they let him take the helm.
“Dad was tired. I saw that this weighed on him and I knew it was time to get involved. He worked seven days a week, twelve hours a day and in my first two years he continued to be the first to arrive every morning. At one point, I asked him to take a step back.”
Roberto, who could rely on the undoubted quality of the products and bakers - including his uncle Silvano Marchesi - was able to give space to his managerial skills, devoting himself above all to marketing and organisation. He worked on the recognisability of the F.lli Marchesi brand, invented "la borsa di Marchesi" (a weekly promotion (to be ordered via Facebook but to be picked up in one of the three stores) of products mostly from the area that they prepare so the customer can take home two ready meals) and above all made his Panettone a unique product and a must have for Christmas in Bergamo, even dedicating a website to it.
This young manager of delicious bread has shown that quality alone is not enough and that the difference is made by those who manage customer relations on and off-line.
"I am investing a lot in young people: here most of the employees are under thirty-five, for them and for us it is important to train and empower them."
Among the female workers, his mother stands out who, according to him, is "The Ibrahimovic of the shop assistants, who every week threatens to quit her job and then remains firm and smiling on the front line!"
"The result of a store depends 50% on who receives the customers" and Roberto is striving to find the way to retain and enhance talent.
On this he says that there is still room for improvement, also because - he adds -
"True success is a business that can walk on its own and that allows me, within 4 to 5 years, to work at a distance while I dedicate myself to my vegetable garden!"
Roberto has very clear ideas and a concrete plan to carry them out: "The entrepreneur is someone who has the desire to do something for himself and for others. While the profit is something more, if you think only of what you don't do.”
And what do your parents say to you now?
“Not much. But every year mum asks me in front of dad: so how many panettone have we sold this year? How many more than last year? She's my biggest supporter!” Roberto laughs lightly and adds: "My parents have both taught me a lot: she gave me her elegance in managing things and people, he gave me his broad look."
Per maggiori informazioni:
Tel. +39 035225302 (anche WhatsApp)
The F.lli Marchesi Bakery has three shops in the city: the first in Boccaleone which has been open since 1960, the second in Borgo Palazzo and the third in Piazza Pontida.
Together with the Urban District of Commerce we met Roberto Marchesi, almost forty years old and third generation of the family. He told us the story of the bakery during his management which started after an intense succession in 2012.
"It was laborious!" He says with a half-smile.
He, unlike many other traders, was not in a shop as a child and didn’t work his way up by occupying all the roles within the bakery. Instead, he has a degree in economics and business and a long work experience history, mostly in Milan. There he was in charge of organising events and for four years he was the manager and area coordinator for the Artisan Trade Fair.
Roberto is concrete and determined, always looking for new challenges and with a true entrepreneurial vision.
"We see further ahead than them and we must continually fight with a ‘we have always done it this way’.”
However, when in 2012 he told his father that he wanted to take over the store "they felt reassured by my professional experience: I already had their full trust."
But it was a long and challenging journey: "When I was a boy they said I was messy and shallow." Then they watched him work with passion and seriousness and, with the right timing, they let him take the helm.
“Dad was tired. I saw that this weighed on him and I knew it was time to get involved. He worked seven days a week, twelve hours a day and in my first two years he continued to be the first to arrive every morning. At one point, I asked him to take a step back.”
Roberto, who could rely on the undoubted quality of the products and bakers - including his uncle Silvano Marchesi - was able to give space to his managerial skills, devoting himself above all to marketing and organisation. He worked on the recognisability of the F.lli Marchesi brand, invented "la borsa di Marchesi" (a weekly promotion (to be ordered via Facebook but to be picked up in one of the three stores) of products mostly from the area that they prepare so the customer can take home two ready meals) and above all made his Panettone a unique product and a must have for Christmas in Bergamo, even dedicating a website to it.
This young manager of delicious bread has shown that quality alone is not enough and that the difference is made by those who manage customer relations on and off-line.
"I am investing a lot in young people: here most of the employees are under thirty-five, for them and for us it is important to train and empower them."
Among the female workers, his mother stands out who, according to him, is "The Ibrahimovic of the shop assistants, who every week threatens to quit her job and then remains firm and smiling on the front line!"
"The result of a store depends 50% on who receives the customers" and Roberto is striving to find the way to retain and enhance talent.
On this he says that there is still room for improvement, also because - he adds -
"True success is a business that can walk on its own and that allows me, within 4 to 5 years, to work at a distance while I dedicate myself to my vegetable garden!"
Roberto has very clear ideas and a concrete plan to carry them out: "The entrepreneur is someone who has the desire to do something for himself and for others. While the profit is something more, if you think only of what you don't do.”
And what do your parents say to you now?
“Not much. But every year mum asks me in front of dad: so how many panettone have we sold this year? How many more than last year? She's my biggest supporter!” Roberto laughs lightly and adds: "My parents have both taught me a lot: she gave me her elegance in managing things and people, he gave me his broad look."
Per maggiori informazioni:
Tel. +39 035225302 (anche WhatsApp)
