RPT-FEATURE-For cashmere capitalist, dignity is bottom line

2009-11-12

* Luxury cashmere firm run on "human" principles

* Managing growth despite sector slowdown

* Founder blends spirit of capitalism with philosophy

By Philip Pullella [1]

SOLOMEO, Italy, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Motivated at age 15 by the tears in his father's eyes when the former farmer was forced to accept a factory job, Brunello Cucinelli is anything but an orthodox capitalist.

His colourful cashmere brand is defying recessionary shrinkage across the luxury sector -- a feat achieved while creating ideal conditions for his workers.

He has converted most of a stone 14th-century town in Umbria into a factory where no-one punches a time clock, lunch breaks are generous and the only rules pasted on the walls are quotes from philosophers and writers.

"I believe in real capitalism. The company has to make profits," he said in a sprawling, spotless office lined with shelves of spools of cashmere on one side and philosophical treatises on the other.

"But I want to try to do it with the ethics of human dignity."

Consultants Bain " Aristotle: "Nature does nothing that is useless;" and Galileo: "Behind every problem lies an opportunity."

From the outside, the stone buildings that house the cutting rooms, the designers' studios and offices give no hint of what is going on inside.

On one recent autumn day, some women worked in a small room using specialised machinery to stitch together pieces of garments while nearby colleagues looked under large magnifying glasses to check quality.

"Compared with previous jobs I have had, I like it very much," said Daniela Allumi, who has been in the garment industry for 40 years. "We grandmothers and mothers have family problems from time to time and when we do they are very flexible here."

At 1 p.m., no bell or horn rang but the workers walked leisurely across the road to the company "restaurant" -- one doesn't call it a canteen -- for a 90-minute lunch break.

PROFIT FROM DIGNITY

"The underlying question is what do to with the profits," said Cucinelli, whose mother worked stitching at home for a large Umbrian clothing company.

He started his first cashmere business in 1978 in a tiny workshop, and sent his first creations to Germany and the United States "because there they paid right away".

Now living in a very comfortable villa, Cucinelli plays on a local soccer team and sometimes joins in poker at the local bar.

He has built a 230-seat theatre to be used as a regional repertory theatre and workers and residents can relax in an olive orchard garden around his villa or use a sports complex he built.

"Part of the profits have to go to help humanity. That means a church, a theatre, or a work of charity. That is what I think the system of business should be," he said.

No one in Solomeo checks if a worker comes back on time from lunch. Those who choose to eat at the factory pay only 2.80 euros for a three-course meal cooked by local women using local ingredients. The place runs on an honour system.

"When the human being finds favourable conditions of life he is more creative," said Cucinelli. "If we want to make high-quality goods we need human beings. To convince the human being to do a humble work we have to make that work dignified." (Additional reporting by Marie-Louis Gumuchian in Milan and Astrid Wendlandt in Paris: Editing by Sara Ledwith)

Links:
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[1] http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=phil.pullella&

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