But Bertelli’s hand is hot, too. Following what some observers called an “epic” tantrum, his Prada Challenge team beat AmericaOne to win the Louis Vuitton Cup and the right to challenge New Zealand in the 30th edition of the America’s Cup race, a best of nine series that kicked off this weekend. Meanwhile, a similarly impassioned approach–combined with publicity from sailing victories–is producing similar success at Prada itself. Carlo Pambianco, a luxury analyst in Milan, predicts sales growth of 20 percent or more for the Milan-based ready-to-wear and leather goods company this year.
Which still may not be enough to satisfy one of the greatest control freaks on land or sea. At Prada, Bertelli chooses the company stationery, dictates the menu in the employee cafeteria and personally hires most of the staff. Though officially the 53-year-old executive just runs the business side, Bertelli personally approves every item in the Prada line. “He’s there at the beginning, middle and end,” says Patrizio di Marco, a Louis Vuitton executive in New York and former president and CEO of Prada USA. So, too, with his America’s Cup effort. A sailor himself, Bertelli hand-picked the entire team for the $50 million yacht, the Luna Rossa.
Bertelli was running his own leather-goods factory in Tuscany when he met heiress Miuccia Prada at a trade show in 1978. When she came across Bertelli’s wares, she cried, “You copied my stuff!” She hired him to do the real thing, and married him eight years later. At the company Bertelli streamlined, modernized, expanded. He introduced the wildly popular nylon bag in 1978 and in the early 1980s began to open shops around the world. He added a shoe line, women’s ready-to-wear and Prada Sport. Bertelli and Prada control 100 percent of the business, from manufacturing to the more than 120 stores worldwide. A sportswear line tied to the sailing team had sales of $250 million last year. This year, analysts reckon Prada’s sales will surpass $1 billion–more than Gucci’s or Giorgio Armani’s.
Like its competitors, Prada was rocked by Asia’s economic crisis. But Bertelli recovered by scraping together $260 million to invest in archrival Gucci in 1998. Six months later he sold the block of shares to LVMH-Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton for a $140 million profit. That set up more acquisitions, including a majority stake in New York-based Helmut Lang and, in August, a controlling stake in Hamburg-based Jil Sander’s highly successful ready-to-wear company.
Then, last month, just as Luna Rossa was about to win, Bertelli lost. Sander up and quit the company she founded 30 years ago–fed up, according to company sources, with Bertelli’s turbulent, hands-on management style. On Thursday, Sander will show her last collection for the house to 100 journalists. Still, most analysts believe the brand can prosper without her.
Back in Auckland, sailing experts say Luna Rossa has a good chance to take home the America’s Cup. The boat is fast, says Herb McCormick, editor of Cruising World, and “the team is battle-hardened.” Just what it needs to face the competition–and the boss.
