THE TALK: More art and culture for the future
We have entered phase two. How is the recovery going?
Yes, we also re-started last week but we had already been working on the protocol for some time in order to be able to re-open in total safety. At the moment it is only a partial re-opening and we will need a few more weeks to return to full capacity. A one and a half-month lockdown was challenging and, in fact, our customers are still closed.
Do you think having internal production is an advantage?
It is in part because, in some ways, you are the master of your own destiny, but we obviously have other suppliers we rely on, like, for example, those who provide the stones. There will still be obstacles if some parts of the supply chain remain closed, especially in terms of distribution. It will be hard to go back to normal rhythms without sell-out. We still have to wait. We are working on the orders we already had in the awareness that some have been blocked or postponed because the stores too, being closed, have shifted the deadlines. Coordination is really important at the moment.
What are your greatest worries?
The initial worries were mainly commercial. Peruffo’s clientele is international and varied and, not being able to fulfil the orders, we were afraid of not providing our foreign customers, in places not yet struck by the crisis, with the required service. We have been doing our utmost to make our presence known and give our support as best we can.
What have you worked on the most?
We have never really stopped in creative terms. We have been working remotely on developing the brand’s content. We are now launching PArt, a collaboration project to support contemporary art which was already ongoing prior to the crisis and which, by speeding up the timing, we finished during lockdown. Peruffo is based on strong content and, particularly at this time, we think it is important to communicate what most characterizes our product, in other words, its link to art and contemporary culture. Our identity and the direction for our future lie in collaborations with artists. It was important to continue sharing our world with our public and our customers. After all this digitalization, solid art and culture projects will be something we really need.
What will be the biggest challenge for the future?
There will be many challenges, especially until we can all move around freely. Without being able to catch a plane, take part in trade shows and events, receive customers or go to see them, there will be huge limitations and hindrances. It is an essential part of our work. Now we have to push our values. Every company must think about its own values and strong points. Those are what we need to re-start and build on in the coming years. With Peruffo, we will certainly continue with collaboration projects, developing new capsule collections with artists and photographers. That’s what we believe in the most.
