It was only 3 short years ago that Dr. Fausto Petruzziello approached my brother Kamran and I with a proposal to bring the Edible Arrangements brand to Italy. Since that time a lot has happened. The economies in both the United and Italy hit a snag to put it lightly, but none more so than in Italy. But amazingly, Dr. Petruzziello, the Master franchisee, has been able to grow the Edible Arrangements brand in Italy.
I’m pleased to announce that on March 28 two new stores opened in Italy, the 4th and 5th store openings in that country since 2009 under the leadership of Master Franchisee Fausto Petruzziello since 2009.
The first of the two stores is owned and operated by Paolo Conti. It’s the first store outside Rome, located in Varese, a city in the Northern region of Lombardy, in the vicinity of Milan. Paolo said it was ‘love at first site’ when he first saw an Edible Arrangements boquet in a flyer. I have to quote him next as his passion speaks volumes:
“I knew immediately that Edible Arrangements was going to be successful in my city due to the simplicity of the product, its innovativeness, the freshness, joyfulness and the originality. Once I saw an Edible Arrangement basket up close and not on a flyer, my love at first sight was confirmed and my enthusiasm grew even stronger.”
I’ve always said passion –intelligent passion –is what you need to succeed in business, and Paolo has an overabundance of it.
Please click the following to view video of the Varese opening celebration: Varese one and two
The second store that opened is owned and operated by Paola Lovaglio and Stefano Sedmok. Paola and Stefano are excited to be opening a location in downtown Rome, and we are just excited to have them as an Edible Arrangements partner. The new location will be supported by their main store just outside the city of Rome.
Edible Arrangements now has 32 international stores located throughout the world including China, India, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and the UAE, with 12 set to open over the next several months. I never imagined that in 11 short years we would have stores around the world and thousands of passionate customers. It surely is a dream come true for me, and for the hundreds of franchisees in our system. If you have dream –don’t put it off –if you work hard, work with intelligent passion, and believe in yourself, you can make your dream come true.
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