“Many people laugh, but in Italy kids have two dreams: The first is to play for the Italian soccer team, a national pastime,” said Marco Mattiacci. “I tried that but injured my knees and said, ”˜That”™s that.”™”
So Mattiacci pursued the other dream, working for a premier Italian car company. Today he is the CEO and president of Ferrari North America.
“I know I”™m an extremely lucky person, because the Ferrari world is driven by the client, by intellectual, influential people and unbelievably talented entrepreneurs,” he said, referring to the idea that 60 percent of Ferrari owners are entrepreneurs.
He spoke recently at the Westchester Italian Cultural Center in Tuckahoe about brand strategies as a precursor to the “Westchester Concorso d”™Eleganza” scheduled for Oct. 2.
At such events, Mattiacci enjoys engaging with Ferrari aficionados, “a community of people who work very hard to have this pleasure and luxury.”
“The customer of Ferrari is really a pioneer. He is brave in his life. He is able to make unusual choices,” he said. “Ferrari represents best in class in technology, eye-catching design and passion, so the ideal customer appreciates those elements.” And can afford that appreciation, with cars starting at a cool $250,000.
Ferrari has stood strong during the recession by investing 18 percent of annual revenue into research and development and rethinking market growth strategies. In 2009, Mattiacci was named one of the “100 Leaders of Outstanding Foreign Enterprises in China” as then-CEO of Ferrari Asia Pacific and a key player in the company”™s growing presence there. He says Ferrari”™s success in China can be attributed to the Chinese consumer identifying with the iconic Ferrari red, a demand for No. 1 products and a desire to acquire status symbols.
The luxury car industry is trying to expand its market here.
“We need to pull younger people in,” said Bailey Vanneck, general manager of Miller Motors in Greenwich, Conn. “With brands like Ferrari coming out with the California and the FF, and Bentley and Maserati coming out with SUVs and an E-segment class, they”™re trying to reach out to broader markets.”
He said that while choosing a favorite car across brands is “like saying of your three kids, which do you like better? They all have different personalities,” Vanneck acknowledged that he likes the more family-friendly, everyday cars being introduced:
“The four-door sedan Maserati Quattroporte is one of my picks. It”™s got a very young image. It”™s got a classy, elegant line. It”™s easy to get in and out of. It”™s easy to drive with great performance.”
Ferrari is also coming out with its FF, a two-door, four-seat, four-wheel-drive car, as an alternative to sportier race cars.
Kids dream of Ferrari so making the purchase as an adult is often a landmark moment, Mattiacci said. “It”™s an emotional moment and something they”™ve been looking for most of their lives.”
The second annual “Westchester Concorso d”™Eleganza” is scheduled to be held Oct. 2, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Depot Square in Tuckahoe. Tickets are $10; free for children age 12 and under. For information, call 771-8700 or go to wiccautoshow.com.
