An Italian Oven Maker Expands Amid the Euro Crisis

The past few years should have been tough on Paolo Bertazzoni. As chief executive of Bertazzoni, a maker of high-end kitchen appliances in the northern Italian town of Guastalla, he has watched as the financial meltdown and euro crisis battered his key markets. Yet even as appliance sales in Europe’s biggest countries stagnate, Bertazzoni remains bullish, expecting revenue growth to top 18 percent this year, to €70 million ($88.5 million), after jumping 23 percent in the first quarter. “We’re optimistic,” Bertazzoni says. “There is a significant group of customers whose aspirations and lifestyle give a central role to cooking for the family. Our products are made to respond to this desire with style.”

The 130-year-old company has managed to keep growing in large part by looking to new markets, especially the U.S. Bertazzoni has redesigned some products to suit American tastes, including super-sizing ovens so they can accommodate massive Thanksgiving turkeys. Since Bertazzoni entered the U.S. in 2005, sales there have grown to about a fifth of the company’s revenues. “We have developed a product that is suitable for the American market, yet with a strong Italian identity,” Bertazzoni says.