Historical Profile

The establishment of the business

Born in Milan in 1916, Gian Carlo Mazzanti was an office worker at the company Innocenti during the years prior to the Second World War.
Upon returning from captivity in Egypt after the war, he decided to leave Innocenti, which was engaged in industrial restructuring at the time, to start his own business with the help of his wife, Nanda Minoli, the daughter of an important knitwear wholesaler in Gallarate.
The idea was to start a children's knitwear factory inspired by the small knitwear products that Nanda packaged for her two children during the war. With the help of a couple of knitters and two small machines, "Maglificio ArtigianoVaresino" (Ar - Va) was established in Varese in 1948 and was later registered at the Chamber of Commerce as a de facto company in 1950. The factory was situated on Via Caracciolo and was comprised of four rented apartments, which provided space for the private residence as well as the work areas. The production immediately covered the entire processing cycle, from the thread to the finished product, and within two years time the number of employees rose to 15. The need for additional space led the company to transfer to Masnago in 1951. In 1953, Nanda Minoli withdrew from the business, which went on to become a sole proprietorship, while continuing to work for the company by taking part in production activities and stylistic choices. Gian Carlo, on the other hand, focused his energies primarily on the company's administration and product sales. In fact, it was he who later came up with the idea of ??opening a store that would allow the company to sell its products directly to the public. Thus, in 1953, the company opened a shop with a relative warehouse on Via Domenichino in Milan. Just two years later, in 1955, a second store, which functioned as a subsidiary, was opened in Piazza Cuoco. The idea, which other entrepreneurs later capitalized upon, proved to be too far ahead of its time and lacked the financial resources required for the development of the project. For this reason, the two shops were closed in 1957 and 1962, respectively.

The Sixties and Seventies

In 1961, not being enrolled within the Register of artisan companies, the business was required to change its name, while in 1964 the company's transfer to Casciago coincided with the construction of a new production facility, which also included a private residence and a dyeing department. At that time, the production of coloured knitwear represented a significant innovation.
During these same years, the Mazzanti's son, Sandro, began working in the company's production department.
In 1968, the company grew to employ 33 people. In 1971 it went back to being a de facto company with the return of Nanda Minoli, who acquired 20% of the shares. Sandro Mazzanti officially entered the partnership just a few months later. In 1970, due to health issues, Gian Carlo Mazzanti suddenly abandoned the management of the company.
After finishing high school, his daughter, Maria Cristina, took charge of the company's administration and joined the partnership in 1975.
During this period, and up until the mid-1980s, the company was run by the mother and her children.
Production began to increasingly gravitate towards exportation: initial exports went to Germany, while subsequent production was also destined for Japan and The United States. The product itself was even diversified: the high-quality knitwear was soon accompanied by the production of jersey fabrics, which were printed by third parties, thereby providing for a rapid increase in export volumes.

From the 1980s to the present

Following Gian Carlo's death in 1981, the company was transformed into a limited partnership when the Mazzanti's eldest son, Marco, who had no active roles within the company, joined the business. The volumes of exported products grew to the point that 70% of the knitwear factory's production was eventually destined for foreign countries. The loss of an important German customer, however, who accounted for nearly the entire amount, sent the company into a period of crisis between 1981 and 1985. This led to an internal restructuring which resulted in the abandonment of jersey production, and the consequent dismantling of its dedicated production lines. Once again, the company began focusing its energies on quality knitwear, and went on to purchase a number of important new machines.
Having returned to the production of quality knitwear, and thanks to a number of new orders, the company was able to survive this difficult time and, in 1987, opened a factory outlet, which allowed it to sell its products directly to the general public. In 1988, the company became a limited liability company.
Exports continued to be the largest revenue item up until the first years of the 21st century. Subsequently, the Japanese economic crisis, which put one of the company's major customers out of business, and the adoption of the Euro as the single European currency, with its rapid appreciation with respect to the American Dollar, resulted in a significant decrease in the company's exports. As a result, the sales destined for the company's two main foreign markets dropped to the point of representing only 30% of its entire production.

More recently, competition from China has also taken its toll on the company and has put the entire industry in jeopardy. Attempts on behalf of many small businesses to resist lowering their prices have accelerated the crisis rather than alleviate it, without even allowing them to save themselves. In order to counteract this negative trend, the company has returned to its strategy of direct marketing: in 2004, it opened a shop on Corso Como in Milan that also serves as a showroom for receiving customers. Today, the company's employees amount to a total of 38, including a number of single machine operators who produce samples and small production lots. It is extremely difficult and expensive to train replacement workers due to the high degree of specialization and the duration of the training required (from four to five years). In addition, the typical problems of small businesses (lack of political support, difficulty in obtaining credit, etc.) also prevent the company from looking to the future with any degree of certainty. For the time being, therefore, the family has avoided involving its latest generation in the management of the company. The Ar-Va knitwear factory has been a member of Symbola - the Foundation for Italian Quality - since 2005.