Azimut Benetti is starting again with Marco Valle, who officially took on his new role as CEO of the Group with the vice president being Giovanna Vitelli, during the yearly press conference which traditionally opens the boating year. The conference took place in Portofino.

Valle, working in the company since 1996, rose through the ranks, leading him to take on the role of CEO for Azimut Yachts in 2016. He was chosen by the ownership to harmonise throughout the entire group the best practices of the two divisions, with the aim of creating partnerships and developing increasing effectiveness.

In closing a year that, notwithstanding the stop during the pandemic, confirmed the solidity and dynamism of a company that has built its success by continually investing on its credibility and the reputation of its brand, Azimut Benetti’s season opens under the best auspices.

“I am extremely satisfied – declared Giovanna Vitelli – in being able to declare that we have been able to keep all our delivery deadlines, thanks to the flexibility that the company was able to enact at  every single level during the hardest months. And there is more: our leadership in the segment of vessels over 24 metres in length has been proven once more by the number of units delivered, which is 56.”

“The new role entrusted to Marco Valle – added the vice president – goes beyond the historical organisation present in our company, which has for a long time worked with both Benetti and Azimut, more like cousins than like brothers, but which is now ready to have a dynamic of increased exchange and performance. Marco, with his strategic transversal vision, his skill in teamwork, his knowledge of the market and his sales intuition is the right man for this step.”

From his end, Valle highlighted how important it was to keep the identity of each brand integral and separate, in the full respect of the distinctive characteristics of each one. The new CEO of Azimut Benetti then presented the program for the new launches planned for the next 18 months.

“With a strong financial position which, notwithstanding the complex year, has been further reinforced – said Marco Valle – we are now in the position to present a particularly full product development program. As such, our overall range will go from 30 to 35 models, to cover practically all the existing categories in the high-end yachting market, increasing the collections from 8 to 10, with the entrance into the categories of the luxury explorer, B.Yond, and in the world of Oasis. This will allow us to continue serving, with even more detail, our international clientèle, helping satisfy their demands thanks to a range that not only covers from 12 to over 100 metres, but also offers sailing styles and on board living solutions that are varied and different.

Over the next few months there will be 9 new models making their début under the brands of Azimut or Benetti. With the partnership of some of the designers who have, over the last few years, been influencing the style of the two brands, like  Alberto Mancini, Ken Freivokh, Giorgio M. Cassetta, Enrico Bonetti (Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture), Adrian Chisnell (RWD), the conference continued in a crescendo of anticipation and surprises, all in the pipeline.

Marco Valle, CEO of Azimut Benetti

NEWS FOR AZIMUT YACHTS

Azimut Yachts is introducing their new flagship, the Trideck by Achille Salvagni and Alberto Mancini, ready for January, which is also when the Flybridge 53 will début, also designed by Mancini, and the Magellano 30 Metres, the older sister of the 25 metres that celebrated its premier in Portofino alongside the short film by Gabriele Muccino dedicated to her.  And more a Verve 42, a new Flybridge and the new Magellano 66.

NEWS FOR BENETTI

Benetti celebrated the delivery of its first Oasis 40M in Portofino, the newest megayacht model which already has 10 units sold on paper. Consolidating this new category is a further model and a new family with the Motopanfilo, which promised to best recover what had made the brand famous in the 1960s. For next September is the 37M in the new category,  B.Yond, the new luxury explorer, characterised by a high and powerful bow.

The Azimut Benetti group has a fleet of 15 models ranging from 12 to 24 metres, 14 models from 24 to 40 metres, two models from 40 to 50 metres, four models from 50 to 60 metres and four custom models, in the gigayacht sector. Between the two brand is an “overlap” of models in the 24 to 40 metre range, which is the meeting point of the two brands: Azimut in the smaller units, Benetti in the megayachts and gigayachts. In the 2019-2020 season, 56 units above 24 metres long were delivered.

THE TIMELINE FOR THE AZIMUT BENETTI GROUP

In September 2020 the Azimut Benetti group presented the Azimut Magellano 25 metres, the Benetti Diamond 145 and the Benetti Oasis 40M. In January 2021, Azimut will present the Flybridge 53 and the Trideck. The new vessels will be presented in the next season of boat shows, in September 2021, when Azimut will come out with its New Flybridge and the New Magellano 66, while Benetti will present B.Yond 37M and Motopanfilo 37M. October 2021 will see a new vessel from Azimut, the Verve 42, while in 2022, Azimut will launch the Magellano 30 Metres and Benetti the New Oasis.

Giuseppe Orrù