Diesel: An Unconventional, Innovative, International-Lifestyle, Italian Company

Abstract

Diesel is an example of a successful Italian company in the fashion industry. This international lifestyle company founded in the 1970s has succeeded in creating and developing denim fabric in a mature market where the competition, led by American multinationals, is strong. Innovation, creativity and nonconformist choices are the fundamental roots of the company. The engine of the company’s success is its founder, Renzo Rosso. Rosso managed to merge the philosophy of Diesel with the challenges of the market. Thanks to his marketing strategy, the company reaches young consumers across the globe. The marketing mix is based on an intense knowledge of the business and on Rosso’s personal intuition. These characteristics made Rosso a pioneer of many trends that later came to be established in the market. This case study examines the company’s internationalization process, the development of its brand identity, and the structural, cultural and human resource variables that favor innovation. It also considers how the company succeeded in repositioning a mature product in such a way as to experience continued growth in national and international markets.