Our innovative nature realized in the Carpisa Lab

The Carpisa Lab was born in 2013 with the intention of putting innovation at the service of the customer, through the use of new materials, equipment and specialized laboratories, which allow progress in these terms. It is a 200 m2 space located in our headquarters in Nola, managed by engineers specialized in the study of new materials, polymers and fabrics that can have an innovative commercial use. Over the years, we have equipped the lab with modern equipment to carry out 3D design, supported by Virtual Reality, and we have organized it to carry out the quality control process of suitcases and bags, the suitcase testing process, as well as the analysis of rigid and soft materials.

The presence of the Carpisa Lab has contributed not only to renewing our product lines, but also to reviewing and devising numerous rules and protocols that have been adopted at company level, implementing a real change of mentality. Among Carpisa Lab's most cutting-edge projects are:

• Carpisa GOTECH®, a material born from the union of ABS and Polycarbonate that is particularly resistant.
• Carpisa Wheel, a silent wheel, tested to ensure a long life on all types of surfaces and designed to minimize the waiting time for assistance, as tread, rim and fork are replaceable directly by the customer.
• Tattoo Lab, a product customization service, which includes courtesy visits by customers to view the printing methods, quality and type of customization. The visits take place periodically and depending on the amount of Tattoo Lab orders. Generally, the meetings take place through a telematic contact with the final customer, while for the loyal customers direct relations are held, which are more concrete and reassuring.

The adoption of ISO 9001 certification for Carpisa Lab reflects our goals related to customer satisfaction and continuous improvement of business performance. In addition, we are subject to an annual audit by the Certifying Body (SGS). All the audits carried out so far have not revealed any cases of non-compliance that would compromise the certification, but have shown a positive assessment of the constant implementation of the quality management process.

The "Artisan Lab/School 4.0": an opportunity to innovate and progress 

The Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) has launched a project that encourages participating companies to apply virtuous and cutting-edge ideas to create an Artisan 4.0 Laboratory through the purchase of digital equipment and the training of new professional figures. This laboratory will become a Center of Excellence for advanced design and prototyping able to reduce their respective costs and time.

The results of the Artisan 4.0 Laboratory will be two: an integrated platform of digital services of market analysis, design, creation of digital models through 3D software, prototyping, and the show case and creation of a new professional figure within the company: the "Digital Modeler".  This figure will have an office dedicated to this type of activity and will be in charge of purchasing cutting-edge equipment for the internal realization of prototypes and models, which can be immediately translated into ready-to-wear fashion products. The Digital Patternmaker will radically change the business processes and will benefit from numerous training and specialization courses, allowing them to develop increasingly innovative projects up to the presentation of collections through a Digital Show Room, where it will be possible to show an entire seasonal collection through screens, instead of the traditional physical samples.

The creation of the Artisan Lab 4.0, the Digital Patternmaker and the respective office, will lead to a double advantage:

• It will provide an innovative answer to the growing demand for customization by customers who will be able to interact with a specific e-commerce module.
• It will drastically reduce time, costs and above all the environmental impacts of the entire process.

Training, a moral duty towards our People

Carpisa Academy manages training, placement and documentation activities representing a true Company Knowledge. The objective of the Academy is to spread, develop and innovate the culture of training and personal growth, promoting lifelong learning: a strategic aspect of constant acquisition of specialized skills of fundamental importance, spendable at a professional and individual level.

The Academy's mission is, therefore, to involve as many people as possible in activities aimed at spreading this model of continuous updating and growth through classroom and distance learning courses, coaching experiences and on-the-job training support.

The portal contains knowledge, guidelines, documents and tutorials that are easily accessible and allows people to pursue the philosophy of lifelong learning in which the Company Knowledge is based. In addition, the platform also performs a placement function, because it gives the possibility to update the personal profile of each user to apply for possible internal career opportunities.

The courses offered by the corporate school are aimed at both direct employees and affiliates. In spite of the difficulties we have had to face and the limitations imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, we have made every effort not to fail in a duty, first and foremost a moral one, that we feel towards our collaborators. Therefore, we have provided 909¹ hours of e-learning training precisely to minimize contacts and contain contagions, corresponding to about 0.8¹ average hours of training per capita.

In particular, in 2020 we activated a series of training projects in order to keep all point-of-sale contacts updated. These projects covered various topics, including:

• Store delivery hub project training, a one-hour course held for all direct and affiliated store referrals
• Product training, two courses lasting four hours each, aimed at store managers and sale assistants of new sales outlets and resources already working in stores
• Training for the launch of the Helbiz/GO Carpisa co-marketing operation, a one-hour course for all direct and affiliate store managers.

In addition, we created ad hoc video tutorials and manuals with product focus. Other topics that have affected the training provided during the year, were focused on: imprinting and knowledge of the Company, product, sales, business economics, communication, MS Office 365, visual recruitment.

We believe that the training phase is very important, especially that aimed at store managers, so that they are able to convey the right information to customers, especially when it comes to presenting new products, special lines or co-marketing projects. At the same time, being able to monitor their learning allows us to identify any gaps and implement actions to improve. To do this, we use input and output tests, evaluation by teachers and satisfaction questionnaires provided at the end of each training course. Monitoring also takes place in the case of on-the-job training through the compilation of customized checklists depending on the role.

Carpisa Academy does not only deal with training, but also manages the relationships with the academic and institutional world, which we believe to be a relevant added value and which allows us to do research and innovation together with young talents. In fact, we believe that progress through constant study and research of innovative solutions determines the excellence of a company. We feel the need to create new business paradigms, moving towards more sustainable development models. Therefore, the contact with the world of research, universities and professional institutes is fundamental to create new solutions and generate talents.

We have always had relationships with schools and universities with which we collaborate through projects and initiatives that are very close to our hearts, including

• school-to-work alternation programs, which constantly see the presence of students at our offices and laboratories
• seminars held in high schools on business organization with particular reference to the importance of supporting a function focused on research and development and emphasizing the positive effects that the same brings to the turnover of the companies
• internships for young graduates aimed at starting laboratory and research activities.

Despite the fact that the pandemic interrupted relations with the academic world for most of 2020, as early as the end of the year, we were able to resume initiatives relating to school-to-work alternation, training programs for interns and internship programs for training young graduates, which became fully active again in 2021.

¹ Data refer to Carpisa Italia.

Carpisa together with Banco Alimentare

The campaign "Love has a weight" is a charity initiative designed for Women's Day and created in collaboration with Pasta Garofalo.

Moved by a feeling of solidarity, we have joined forces with Pasta Garofalo to support Banco Alimentare, donating 10,000 kg of pasta to espouse a noble cause: to offer a plate of pasta to the people most in need. In order to carry out this activity, we chose to involve our customers as well, giving them the opportunity to contribute to the donation of a plate of pasta to one of the soup kitchens supported by Banco Alimentare by purchasing a Carpisa product in store.

The initiative didn't stop with just us at Carpisa and Pasta Garofalo, but also spread to several renowned chefs, who created their own personal pasta-based video-recipe for the occasion, which was posted on their social profiles to allow everyone to get closer to this solidarity project. For example, chef Gennaro Esposito made the recipe live on Instagram from his IG profile @carpisaofficial.

For the occasion, the chefs wore an apron depicting the poster of the initiative created by the Neapolitan architect and artist Alessandro Ciambrone, while inside all Carpisa stores in Italy, and for the duration of the operation, postcards dedicated to the initiative were displayed.

Towards alternative packaging with less environmental impact

With a view to optimizing the use of resources and managing them responsibly, we are studying possible alternative packaging systems. Among these, we would like to:

• Recycle all PET polybags with the support of specialized companies to give the material a "second life"
• Totally eliminate polybags from the Luggage product, which will be shipped directly with its own RPET cover, thus reducing the amount of plastic to be disposed of in the stores
• Create Kraft Paper packages to be used as wrapping during the transport in containers and, subsequently, to be re-used as shopping bags inside the stores
• Adopt TNT and PLA shopping bags for packaging in containers and in-store sales
• Create certified cotton or FSC paper shopping bags
• Create boxes in FSC paper.