Ben Gilbert: commitment

Transcript context

…There are no engines involved, that is for sure. There are French carmakers, but we're not going to make any episodes about them, shall we say? Italy, though, doesn't have the same kind of history. As France. I mean, it's got like the Roman history and all that ancient history, but it doesn't have the same royal lineage and history. So with Italian luxury, the primary ingredient is the craftsmanship, and that's embodied in the design and the passion. The myth, the dream that you're buying is about reinforcing that passion, that emotion that went into the product. And the best way I can think of to illustrate this is just the centrality of the designers. Like, who are the designers at Hermès? If you really know the house, if you really know Hermès, you probably know who the designers are. But for most Hermès clients, it's just like, oh, this is Hermès. Yeah. In Italy, it's totally different. You could have Gucci, but it's like, well, which Gucci is that? Is that Tom Ford Gucci or is that Gucci in the wilderness Gucci? Or name your other designer like Giorgio Armani or Donatella Versace or Valentino or Brunello Cucinelli today, like the actual people and the designers and their passion and their personality is much more central than in French luxury. That's interesting. I'm not sure I totally agree with the distinction, but a thing that I will say is you go to Paris to absorb the history and look at the fine museums, and you go to Italy to feel something. To live the good life.…

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