Creating and Preserving Brand Heritage

Various corporate museums throughout Florence and Milan - June

Richard Ginori, Piaggio & Salvatore Ferragamo

Kartell & Alessi

A corporate museum is a type of institution that combines elements of a profit-making organization with a traditional museum, giving the public a glance into the past, present and future of a company. We've visited several corporate museums on this trip, each one taking a different approach in exhibiting the evolution of the products, people and organization of the company.


A great archive of products are displayed to showcase the evolution of the company through its products. Walking through the Kartell museum, we can see the development of the company over time, from producing plastic accessories for cars and laboratories to plastic furniture and goods for the home.

  
Stories are often told, where visitors are able to connect to the company and its products on a personal level. At the Piaggio museum in Florence, we took a look at the history of Vespa through family, societal and political changes, as they were closely tied with the evolution of the company itself.

Similar to a traditional museum, products are sometimes viewed as works of art and cultural icons. For instance, beauty, craftsmanship and innovative material use of the shoes were highlighted in the Ferragamo Museum, with references to celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo and Audrey Hepburn. They have all graced the media with Ferragamo shoes, making them icons in fashion.

Finally, corporate museums are not only displays for the public, but internally for employees as well. At Alessi, the museum houses both sold and frozen products, organized by categories so employees can easily browse through them.

Xinran, Foong Ling, Ruby