Dexelance, the high-end challenge
But it is not even what design companies expect from the listing on the stock exchange, as observed by Andrea Sasso, CEO of Dexelance (formerly Italian Design Brands), a group listed on Piazza Affari last May, on the Euronext Milan segment, with 11 brands high range in its stable and a 2023 turnover of almost 311 million euros (+16.6% on 2022 including the consolidation of the latest acquired companies). «Dexelance is an industrial group that aims to help excellent small and medium-sized businesses grow on the market – explains Sasso -. Ours is therefore a long-term vision, we are not interested in the value of the stock day by day. Today, however, we are experiencing a phase of the stock market that is not favorable to small and medium-sized companies, but we look at the results of our subsidiaries, which are almost all growing more than the market average and closed 2023 with record numbers. We are certain that the stock exchange, over time, will recognize the right value for our group.” As of today, the Dexelance stock on Piazza Affari is at 10.10 euros, with a capitalization of 271.9 million, almost 11 times the expected profit for 2024 and twice the net book equity.
But the advantage of the listing, for Sasso, is above all in the «visibility and credibility that we have acquired: we have become even more attractive for companies in the sector, not only Italian and not only medium-small, therefore being on the stock exchange will allow us to further consolidate the growth path also through external lines which is the basis of our industrial project, born in 2015 as Italian Design Brands and which today continues with the name Dexelance to affirm our positioning on the high range and open up to operations also on foreign markets ».
Elica debuts in ovens and invests in the brand
Another group that is investing heavily in brand positioning is Elica, a Fabriano company that has been producing kitchen extractor systems for 50 years and has focused on a design proposal, which this year has expanded to include ovens, induction hobs and wine cellar, whose collections were presented at EuroCucina, on the occasion of the last Salon. An extension of the product range accompanied by investments also in “brand identity”, with a plan of over 40 million euros in three years, earmarked for the business transformation project, particularly in the R&D and marketing areas.
«Design is a very important element for our company and with the transformation presented at the Salone del Mobile it becomes even more important – explains CEO Giulio Cocci -. We are not aiming for luxury, but for a product that is commercially inclusive, but differentiated and differentiating and the design is functional to this objective. However, we remain an industrial, manufacturing company, which often suffers from the consensus dynamics of companies that buy raw materials and transform them. Therefore, from the stock market’s point of view, we are experiencing a phase of strong pressure on the real value of the company. Two years ago the Elica stock was worth around 3.7 euros, the maximum after the listing, and even then we already thought that the stock was underpriced compared to the value of the company, so much so that we started and continue to invest in ourselves with a policy of buyback that will continue”. 2024 will be an important year for the company, which has changed its skin, a year of strong investment even if the market, not only the stock market, is still under pressure: «But we are sure that at the end of this journey we will achieve the objectives we we asked ourselves”, adds Cocci. The stock on Piazza Affari is today worth 1.85 euros, with a market capitalization of 116.5 million, approximately 13 times the net profit expected for 2014 and is at a discount on the net accounting equity.
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