Category: Piaggio

Crain’s story piques Chicago’s interest in Vespa

Stuart Luman’s story in Crain’s Chicago Business about Chicago’s lack of a Vespa dealer (2sb’s reaction) attracted a good deal of other media interest today. Along with some radio coverage and word of mouth, local culture site Chicagoist posted about the story (thanks for the link!). In a strange coincidence, the downstate Belleville News-Democrat ran a story about a sales spurt for local motorcycle dealers, including a bit about Vernon Carver of Moto Italia, the Edwardsville Vespa dealer interviewed in Luman’s story. Chicagoist’s blurb ended: “This was all just a “sky is fallingâ€? thing to see if we could make you want a Vespa. To tell you the truth, now we just want a Vespa.” Even PiaggioUSA knows, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

Piaggio, Vespa scooters arrive at Old Towne Moto

2sb’er Matthew reports

Piaggio USA was just dropping off new Vespas and Piaggios at Old Towne Moto. Included in the mix was one of the Police stickered BV250s.

So despite any official word from Old Towne Motocycle Shoppe (1421 N. Wells, Chicago) or PiaggioUSA, it appears certain now that Old Towne (and presumably parent company MotoplexUSA) are Chicago’s new Vespa/Piaggio dealer. it’s still unclear whether the ex-Maywood “Vespa of Chicago” operation (now in Roselle) is an officially sanctioned dealer or service center, though 2sb reader Wezul reports they serviced his bike to his satisfaction.

More Chicago Vespa dealer rumors

We continue to hear rumors that Old Town Motocycle Shoppe on Wells Street will soon become Chicago’s official Vespa/Piaggio dealer. Old Towne and their Cicero-based parent MotoplexUSA currently sell Aprilia motorcycles and scooters, another brand owned by Piaggio.

It’s unclear what happened when Sam Tomaino sold West Suburban Auto Group, but it appears a dispute between Tomaino and Old Towne may be holding up an official announcement. While the VespaUSA site lists no shops in the Chicago area, Tomaino has apparently opened a new shop in Roselle (with the same phone number once listed for the Maywood dealership) and vespachicago.com lists only the Diversey Ave. Vespa “boutique.” Ex-Vespa of Chicago sales manager Dan Kay is rumored to be involved in the MotoplexUSA operation. We suspect Tomaino is (quite reasonably) attempting to retain WSAG’s past customers and sell what’s left of the WSAG stock. In any case, this holdup can’t be helping PiaggioUSA’s sales during this busy sales season.

Piaggio releases IPO prospectus

Vespa manufacturer Piaggio & C. SpA released a prospectus today outlining their initial public offering. Since we can’t read Italian OR “legalese,” we’ll accept Bloomberg’s synopsis that they plan to sell up to 158 million shares, at €2.3 to €3 each, to raise as much as €474 million (US$599 million). Piaggio Chairman Roberto Colannino’s IMMSI SpA holding company, who now holds 40% of the company, plans to increase their share to 49%. The IPO values Piaggio at about €1.16 billion.

Profit, lightning, and IPO approval:
a busy week for Piaggio

After reporting a first-quarter profit for the first time in years, and a lightning strike at their Pontedera factory last week. Piaggio’s IPO prospectus was approved by the Italian regulatory agency Consob today. Piaggio is expected to publish the prospectus in the next few days. The Australian has a good story outlining Piaggio’s recent history and return to profitability.

“This technology deserves to be tested under real power”

Another, more detailed review of the MP3 from the Independent.
Via Mad Man Maddox, who adds:

What intrigues me is that this might be a Thing (I hate to call it a scooter) that lets me ride to work all year long. I did that this year but i am crazy, The bike has power to drive heated lap covers, heated vests, and heated handle bars, plus LARGE and small wind screens designed for summer and winter conditions. And it has up to 110 liters of storage. My winter riding jacket and my full face helmet fit in my 45 liter top case now after I take out my mac book and lunch. I ride the Kymco 250 all over Chicago — I-57, I-55 — and it’s fine. I have never ridden it farther on the interstate than Cleveland. If the stability [of the MP3] is as good as I hope, this is a car replacement. Did not you quote an article in french talking about a 400cc upgrade?

Yes, the 400cc MP3 is due in December for Europe, and there are also rumors of an Aprilia version, but the US is only getting the 125cc version for now. Hopefully it will find success in Europe, because Piaggio, despite their PR and soundbites to the contrary, doesn’t seem too interested in us.

The Wall Street Journal on Piaggio’s “comeback”

After starting out with the obligatory (Jesus, make them stop) “Audrey Hepburn lead,” yesterday’s Wall Street Journal story (syndicated here because the WSJ won’t share) about Piaggio’s “comeback” goes on to say:

[In] 2003, the company, based outside of Pisa, found itself in such dire straits that it teetered on the brink of default. Years of revolving-door management and millions of euros squandered on ill-conceived expansion plans had saddled Piaggio with crushing debts and left it vulnerable to competition from cheaper Asian rivals.

The Journal credits Roberto Colaninno and his staff with turning the company around, and they are making progress. Piaggio’s back in the black, but many of the very changes the WSJ praises are the same actions that caused trouble in the past. How are these new Chinese joint ventures less risky than the ones that fell apart ten years ago? How is the current Asian competition less of a threat? Why is the purchase of Aprilia and Moto Guzzi any more promising than the other dozen mergers and acquisitions Piaggio’s fumbled before? Is Piaggio really leading an Italian manufacturing revival, or are they assembling mostly Asian-made components on an Italian assembly line? Does Piaggio finally have their act together, or are they just riding a lucky wave of nostalgia and high gas prices?

It’s certainly a bit of both. The management, both in the U.S. and worldwide offices, seems to be more focused and Piaggio definitely remains a worldwide technology (and style) leader. Their public offering, even though it’s likely to be delayed, will help stabilize the company, too. Still, they can’t let their guard down, the scooter industry is never smooth sailing, especially in Italy and the United States. Colaninno has been quoted several times lately calling North America Piaggio’s most critical growth market. U.S. sales, support, and supply have improved in the past year, but if they’re serious about conquering the U.S., there’s still a lot more work to do.