The people of Barcelona will soon get used to seeing him often walking along the coast or around Port Vell. Patrizio Bertelli, president of the luxury firm Prada, is also the owner of Luna Rossa, the boat that represents Italy in the next edition of the America’s Cup for sailing, which will take place in the Catalan capital in the fall of 2024.
Bertelli, at 76, the ninth richest man in Italy with a net worth of 5.3 billion euros, maintains his commitment to sailing to win the oldest sports trophy in the world, but from a business point of view he is preparing to retract sails.
A few weeks ago Andrea Guerra, former top manager of the eyewear giant Luxottica, took over the reins of the fashion group, with a precise objective: to prepare the ground for Lorenzo, the eldest son of Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada, to continue the family saga.
There are life-changing encounters. That of Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada is one of them. They met in a luxury store in the exclusive Vittorio Emanuele II shopping gallery in Milan owned by Miuccia Prada, heir to the family business founded by her grandfather.
They couldn’t be more different. Patrizio, son of a family of lawyers, was going to be an engineer but his passion was to undertake. He dropped out of school and by the age of 20 already owned a belt leather firm, Sir Robert, and later expanded by acquiring a handbag company, Granello. Miuccia graduated in Political Science and in the 1970s was a member of the Italian Communist Party. She creative, she also studied mime and acting.
By uniting with Patrizio, they create the perfect pairing: she designs, he manages. They get married in 1987. In that period the international expansion of the group begins, opening its first store in New York. Between the two they build an empire: since 2011, the company has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. And today it has a capitalization of 16,000 million euros, with brands such as Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s and Car Shoe. After some 45 years of active business life, the two spouses are now preparing to give way to the next generation. What is the balance? The company has managed to defend its autonomy from the large luxury groups. For Pilar Pasamontes, Scientific Director of Fashion at the IED in Barcelona and Professor of Fashion History, “Prada has known how to focus with a very clear focus. While other brands have changed, she has always remained faithful to her audience of elegant, upper-class women.” But a business school academic also has some criticism. “They have not been able to grow the other brands. Prada has become too small and is in a weak position”, he says.
In any case, Patrizio will be able to concentrate from now on his true passion, which is sailing. He will try to win the America’s Cup for the sixth time. “Until I get bored I continue,” he says. Bertelli is a collector of ships (he owns as many as eight), from turn-of-the-century pearls to slightly more modern iconic vessels. He is also dedicated to investing in symbolic places in his hometown, Arezzo, in Tuscany. It is these days the news that he is negotiating the purchase of the legendary Caffé Constantini, the bar where Life is Beautiful (1997) by Roberto Benigni was filmed. Likewise, in spring and under his direction, he will open the restaurant La Buca di San Francesco, an establishment that closed during the pandemic and where Salvador Dalí or the King of Sweden, among others, were going to eat.
Lorenzo Bertelli, 33 years old, graduated in Philosophy, former rally driver and until recently responsible for Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility of the group, is now the designated dolphin. “When you get in the car and put your helmet on, the unimportant things go flying out the window. Only you, the adrenaline and the right direction are left”. Soon it will be him who will have his hands on the wheel of the company.
Or the rudder?
