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Italian Investment in the United States
Italian Investment in the United States – Contributions to a History Federico Barbiellini Amidei & Andrea Goldstein Dipartimento di Economia politica Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia 22 novembre 2007 Fiat in 1909 I) Motivations & Goals of the Paper II) Methodology & Data III) Historical Phases and Milestones IV) Key Actors (& Sectors) V) Why So Difficult? VI) Main Findings Introduction I) Motivations … • Apparent paradox – in the XX century Italy become one of OECD largest economies, and yet in 1990 all its firms were employing less people in the United States than a single Dutch firm. • The Italian case as an extreme case of active internationalization: exporting (a lot!) without investing. • Telling the story of Italian direct investment in the United States helps to understand Italian big (and not so big) business and its internationalization. • Need to reconcile present evidence with history, to trace contemporary phenomena back to historical trajectories (there is no clear, linear trend). Introduction I) …. & Goals • Is there anything distinctively Italian in Italy’s direct investment in the United States (more generally, in Italian FDI)? • To what extent have Italian investments in the United States differed from those of other countries? • Have Italian businesses in the United States become more alike over time with those of other European countries? • How did American operations contribute to the commercial, industrial, technological and financial performance of Italy’s largest corporations (Fiat, Pirelli, Montecatini, Olivetti, etc)? • To which extent have they transferred back to Italy what they learnt in America? Data II) Methodology • Ample use of Banca d’Italia archives (especially notes from NY representatives) • Company sources, including Generali, IRI and Pirelli archives • US media archives (Business Week, Fortune, Trade with Italy; also Internet archives for The NY Times and Time) • Many new “Internet friends” who provided advice and information on often exoteric subjects • A rich empirical literature of sectors and companies cases • Selected oral interviews (especially Olivetti old-times) Data II) Data • Italy is a late-comer and until the recent past preciously few Italian firms had a presence in the United States. • In fact, it is only in the 1980s and then more decisively in the 1990s that the number of affiliates, plants, offices, and shops in the United States becomes significant. • The mode of entry has also changed (increasingly M&As). • Data availability and quality are well-known limitations: any attempt at taking a long-term historical view is bound to be problematic. We rely on a variety of sources, none of them fully reliable or complete, and not always consistent with each other. Data II) US DATA (Bureau of Economic Analysis) • Italy has always been a very marginal source of FDI (share in total foreign-held assets) – – – – – End-1929: 1.7% of the total; 1930s: decline to 0.6% in 1939; 1959-1963: increase to 1,3%; 1968-1974: lower and decreasing (to 0,5%); 1977-1991: declining (from new levels, revision after revision, in the 2%-0,5% range). • Sales and employment figures (only published since 1977) provide a more consistent story of steady increases in absolute terms and less dramatic volatility in relative ones: – turnover has grown 12-fold since 1977; – the number of jobs provided by Italian multinationals by eight times; – relative sales share declines in the 1977-1991 period (from new levels, revision after revision, in the 1,5%-0,6% range); – share for employment is increasing, and higher than for sales (pointing to a specialization in labor-intensive sectors). • The number of affiliates (also published since 1977) trebled between 1977 and 1991. Data 2,5 Assets % Sales % Employees % 2 1,5 1 0,5 0 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Data 300 120 Affiliates # Employees # (right scale) 250 100 200 80 150 60 100 40 50 20 0 1975 0 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 Data 120 Assets $ 100 80 60 40 20 0 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 Data 5000 Assets $ 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 Data 40000 Assets $ 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 Data II) ITALIAN DATA (UIC, KPMG) • In 1980-1988 period the Italian share in total FDI in the US show a volatile upward trend (in the 0,7%-1,2% range). • US share in total Italian DI abroad: rising trend in the 19711988 (in the 5%-14% range). • Italian DI in US on GDP: dramatic increase in 1980s. • Italian DI abroad vis-à-vis other OECD countries. • Italian M&As in the US in the 1990s. Data 1,3 ITALIAN SHARE OF FDI IN USA (stocks as a % of USA inward FDI) 1,2 1,1 1 0,9 0,8 0,7 0,6 0,5 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 Data 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 ITALIAN FDI IN USA: SHARE ON TOTAL ITALIAN OUTWARD FDI 0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 Data 20 0,8 ITALIAN FDI (stocks) as a % of GDP 18 0,7 ITALIAN FDI IN USA (stocks) as a % of GDP (right scale) 16 0,6 14 0,5 12 10 0,4 8 0,3 6 0,2 4 0,1 2 0 1936 1946 1956 1966 1976 1986 1996 0 2006 Data 1600 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 1971 RATIO ITALY/GERMANY OUTWARD FDI (%) 1400 RATIO ITALY/ FRANCE OUTWARD FDI (%) 1200 RATIO ITALY/EURO AREA OUTWARD FDI (%) RATIO ITALY/ NETHERLANDS OUTWARD FDI (%) 1000 800 RATIO ITALY/ BELGIUM OUTWARD FDI (%) 600 RATIO ITALY/ FINLAND OUTWARD FDI (%, right scale) 400 RATIO ITALY/SPAIN OUTWARD FDI (%, right scale) 1976 200 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 0 2006 Data 25 ITALIAN M&A IN USA (#) ITALIAN M&A IN USA (% of total Italian M&A abroad) 20 15 10 5 0 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 Data 80,0 70,0 ENERGY PRODUCTS FOOD BEVERAGES AND TOBACCO MECHANICAL AND ELECTRONICS BANKING AND INSURANCE SERVICES TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT FOOTWEAR, TEXTILE AND APPAREL TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES CHEMICALS, RUBBER AND PLASTIC PRODUCTS 60,0 ITALIAN FDI IN USA: SECTORAL PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION 50,0 40,0 30,0 20,0 10,0 0,0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 Data 7,0 6,0 ENERGY PRODUCTS TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT FOOD BEVERAGES AND TOBACCO FOOTWEAR, TEXTILE AND APPAREL MECHANICAL AND ELECTRONICS BANKING AND INSURANCE SERVICES CHEMICALS, RUBBER AND PLASTIC PRODUCTS 5,0 ITALIAN FDI IN USA: SPECIALIZATION INDEX 4,0 3,0 2,0 1,0 0,0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 Milestones Phase Until World War I Key Firms Fiat Snia Intra-war years Banco di Napoli Banca Italiana di Sconto Snia Chatillon Italian Superpower Corp. III) Italian DI in US: Historical Phases, Actors and Milestones Economic Miracle years Banca Commerciale Italiana Banco di Sicilia Olivetti Fiat Montecatini Buitoni Gucci Generali 1963-1992 Banco di Napoli BNL Olivetti Fiat Montedison Pirelli Agip (Eni) Italcementi Ferrero GFT Marzotto Armani Banca Commerciale Italiana Credito Italiano Banco di Roma Banco di Sicilia Milestones III) Italian DI in US: until World War I Year Milestones 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 Fiat: Fiat Motors Co. factory at Poughkeepsie, NY; then as trading company. Banco di Napoli: New York branch, monopoly to collect and transfer emigrants’ remittances. 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 Gualino/SNIA: International Shipbuilding Co., Marine & Commerce Corp. of America, Sniacoal. Banca Italiana di Sconto: Italian Discount & Trust. Banca Commerciale Italiana: New York branch. Milestones III) Italian DI in US: until World War I (1900-1918) Phase Key Firms Until World War I Fiat Presence status In & Out Snia (Soc. di Navigazione Italo-Amer) In & Out Banco di Napoli Banca Italiana di Sconto In In & Out Key factors Sectors Mkt seeking + technology Automobile War short. + US War Aid Shipbuilding, Transportation, Mining Remittances Ethn.Comm. American Finance Banking Milestones Phase Until World War I Key Firms Fiat Snia Intra-war years Banco di Napoli Banca Italiana di Sconto Snia Chatillon Italian Superpower Corp. III) Italian DI in US: Historical Phases, Actors and Milestones Economic Miracle years Banca Commerciale Italiana Banco di Sicilia Olivetti Fiat Montecatini Buitoni Gucci Generali 1963-1992 Banco di Napoli BNL Olivetti Fiat Montedison Pirelli Agip (Eni) Italcementi Ferrero GFT Marzotto Armani Banca Commerciale Italiana Credito Italiano Banco di Roma Banco di Sicilia Milestones III) Italian DI in US: Intra-war years 1919 1920 Banca Commerciale Italiana: took over Lincoln Trust Company. SNIA: subsidiaries Industrial Fibre of America, Commercial Fibre. Credito Italiano: representative office in New York. 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 Comit: Banca Commerciale Italiana Trust Co. established in New York. SNIA: Industrial merged with American-owned company, becoming Industrial Rayon of America. SNIA: listed on the NYSE. Banco di Sicilia: Bank of Sicily Trust. 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 Châtillon: American Châtillon (with Tubize). Comit: Bancomit Corporation, to overcome interstate banking prohibition. Gualino: General SALPA Limited. Pirelli: listed on the NYSE. Comit: BCI Trust Co. in Boston and Philadelphia. Banco di Napoli: Banco di Napoli Trust Company in New York. Châtillon: American Châtillon merged with Tubize, then Celanese. Banco di Napoli: Banco di Napoli Trust Company in Chicago. 1932 1933 1934 1935 Generali: open US branch. 1936 1937 1938 1939 Comit: liquidation of Boston, Philadelphia Trust, sale of NY Trust. 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Buitoni: create Buitoni Foods as an independent company, to run spaghetti bars, small plant. Closing of Comit branch, liquidation of Banco di Napoli Trust (previously aquired B. of Sicily T.) Milestones III) Italian DI in US: Intra-war years (1919-1945) Phase Key Firms Intra-war years Snia (Soc. Nav. Ind. e Comm.) Chatillon Presence status In & Out In & Out Buitoni In Banca Commerciale Italiana In & Out Banco di Sicilia Banco di Napoli In & Out Out Key factors Sectors Tariff + Technology advantage (products & equipment) Synthetic Fibers Mkt (prod.&sale structure) + Ethnic consumers Food Ethnic community savings + Trade financing (Italian imports, US importers of Italian Goods) + Access to hard currency + Italian issues capital mkt + to back industrial partners (Chat) Banking Milestones Phase Until World War I Key Firms Fiat Snia Intra-war years Banco di Napoli Banca Italiana di Sconto Snia Chatillon Italian Superpower Corp. III) Italian DI in US: Historical Phases, Actors and Milestones Economic Miracle years Banca Commerciale Italiana Banco di Sicilia Olivetti Fiat Montecatini Buitoni Gucci Generali 1963-1992 Banco di Napoli BNL Olivetti Fiat Montedison Pirelli Agip (Eni) Italcementi Ferrero GFT Marzotto Armani Banca Commerciale Italiana Credito Italiano Banco di Roma Banco di Sicilia Milestones III) Italian DI in US: Economic Miracle years 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 Ferragamo: store opened in New York. Banco di Napoli: branch in New York. Olivetti: subsidiary in New York. Generali: controlling stake of Buffalo Insurance Company (NY) Arnoldo Mondadori: American office. Buitoni: new plant for pasta production in New Jersey. Olivetti: electronic computer research laboratory, in New Canaan, CT. Generali: US branch. Pirelli: Pirelli Canada cable factory in St Johns, Quebec. Gucci: store opened in New York. Buitoni: Buitoni Food part of the Italian group. Finmeccanica (IRI): shop in New York. Fiat: Fiat Servofide. 1956 1957 Fiat: Fiat Motor Company. Montecatini: listed on NYSE. 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 Olivetti: take over Underwood. Montecatini: Novamont subsidiary. Montecatini: Novamont start production of polypropylene (Moplen) in Charleston, WV. Chatillon (Edison): strategic alliance with Firestone for a plant in Hopewell, VA. Agip (Eni): Agip USA (commercialization). BNL: New York branch. Milestones III) Italian DI in US: Economic Miracle years (1946-1962) Phase Key Firms Key factors Sectors Olivetti Presence status In Economic Miracle years Mkt (sale, post sale structure) + Fear of tariff + Mkt share (A) + Tech. (design, brand et al.) + Access to new tech. and skills (research centers) Typewriters, calculators Fiat In Tech.&prod. coop.+ Mkt&Tech. (small cars) + It.Gov. restrain Automobiles Montecatini In Tech. (extend pat. but) + Mkt (but inadequate sale structure) + Unability to coop. + Listing on NYSE (difficulties in financing) + It.Gov. restrain Chemical Buitoni Stayed Mkt (prod.&sale structure) + Ethnic consumers Food Gucci In Mkt (sale struct.) + Brand tech. Fashion Generali In Mkt share (A) + Cooperation Insurance Banco di Napoli BNL In In Remittances + Export fin. + (state) Industry backing Banking Milestones Phase Until World War I Key Firms Fiat Snia Intra-war years Banco di Napoli Banca Italiana di Sconto Snia Chatillon Italian Superpower Corp. III) Italian DI in US: Historical Phases, Actors and Milestones Economic Miracle years Banca Commerciale Italiana Banco di Sicilia Olivetti Fiat Montecatini Buitoni Gucci Generali 1963-1992 Banco di Napoli BNL Olivetti Fiat Montedison Pirelli Agip (Eni) Italcementi Ferrero GFT Marzotto Armani Banca Commerciale Italiana Credito Italiano Banco di Roma Banco di Sicilia Milestones 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Rizzoli: Fifth Avenue bookstore. Ifi: important shareholder of 3M (Ferrania). Carlo Gavazzi: Reactor Controls in California. Olivetti: Olivetti Underwood acquire Federal; new subsidiary, Copia. Agip (Eni): Agip Petroleum Co. Inc. (exploration and production). Montecatini Edison: doubling of American plant. Olivetti: new plant in Harrisburg of Olivetti Underwood. Pirelli: Pirelli Canada control four cable plants. Ferrero : sales office in New York; then production. Comit: New York branch. 1970 1971 III) Italian DI in US: 19631992 1972 1973 Olivetti: Advanced Technology Center in Cupertino, Olivetti Research Center in Menlo Park (CA). Fiat: Fiat-Allis. Credit: New York branch. Banco di Roma: New York branch ; Banco di Roma Inc., Chicago. 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 Fiat Agri: acquire 100% of Hesston. Beretta: Beretta USA, acquired a gun factory in Washington D.C. Fiat: Industrial Vehicles Corporation. Pirelli: Pirelli Enterprise founded, cable sector (5 U.S. plants acquired). Benetton: first store opened in North America. Campari: Campari USA. Armani: open its first American store in Miami. Comit: acquisition of Litco Bancorporation (holding company of Long Island Trust Company, New York). Brioni: shop in NY. Montedison: Himont (joint venture with Hercules in the polypropylene sector); Erbamont (controlling pharmaceutical Farmitalia-Carlo Erba) quoted on the NYSE. Fiat auto pull out. Chiorino: US subsidiary. 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 Pirelli: acquisition of David System (communications systems) in Silicon Valley. Montedison: Ausimont Compo, specialty chemicals company (merge of Ausimont, specialty plastics, with Compo Industries). Marzotto: US subsidiary. Benetton: plant in North Carolina. Cinemeccanica: US subsidiary. Montedison: Ausimont Compo acquire Allied-Signal’s fluoropolymer plant facilities in Texas and New Jersey. Prada: shop in NY. GFT: acquisition of Riverside Manufacturing, North Carolina. Benetton: establish Benetton USA Co. Pirelli fails to take over Firestone and ends up buying Armstrong. De Longhi: US subsidiary in Florida. 1989 1990 1991 1992 Zegna: shop in NY. Eni: acquisition of Freeport McMoRan; Agip Petroleum Exploration Co. is founded. Marzotto: through Hugo Boss acquisition, The Joseph & Feiss Co. (production + retail trade) Milestones III) Italian DI in US: 1963-1992 Phase Key Firms Key factors Sectors Olivetti Presence status Stayed 19631992 Tailor old mkts + Diversification (new mkts A) + Access to new tech. and skills (research centers) Typewriters, calculators, computers, copying machines Fiat Out In Tech. & productive partnerships + Mkt share (A) Automob., construction equipment, trucks, agricultural machinery Montedison In Mkt (but politics needs) + Tech. strategic alliances (focus on core business) Chemical, fine chemical, pharm. Pirelli In Mkt&Tech. cable (prod. &sale, post sale structure) + Access to new tech. (A) + Mkt share tires (A) Cable, optoelectronics, tires Agip (Eni) In Trade + Resources seeking + Political needs Oil Ferrero In Mkt (marketing, prod.) Food Benetton Armani Marzotto GFT In In In In Mkt (sale structure, marketing) + Mkt share Textile, Cloth and Fashion Banca Commerciale Italiana Credito Italiano Banco di Roma Banco di Sicilia In In In In Assist Italian corporate clients (raising funds, export., DI-M&As) + Money mkt + Access techn. (finance) Banking Key Actors IV) Key Actors & Sectors: Olivetti • Adriano and the US (visit in 1925) • After WWII, Olivetti is emblematic of Italian design & buon gusto • Underwood acquisition – Hubris? Adriano had been denied entry to the plant in 1925 – “The acquisition was to Italians a symbolic act that somehow seemed a vindication for every poor Italian, possessions wrapped in a red bandanna, who had come hopeful and illiterate to the New World” (Fortune) – Still, rivals’ interest convinced Adriano to pre-empt them • Post-merger integration – – – – – Adriano passed away a few months later Underwood was a lemon (André Mayer said so!) Progress in the early 1960s (Galassi and Gabetti) Crisis in Italy and Argentina hit the recovery in the US Also an opportunity to learn how to improve production and marketing • De Benedetti years Key Actors IV) Key Actors & Sectors: Olivetti 1950 1952 1954 1959 1960 1964 1965 1968 1969 1972 1980 Olivetti opens a subsidiary in New York, Olivetti Corp. of America, selling printing calculators, competing on quality rather than price. Olivetti opens an electronic computer research laboratory, in New Canaan, CT. The Museum of Modern Art in New York organize a 40-day exhibition of Olivetti’s work. Flagship store inaugurated in Fifth Avenue, followed by others in San Francisco and Chicago. Olivetti takes over Underwood (34%; 9 mln $). Negotiation conducted in a hurry (no proper due diligence), against advice of Lazard Fréres. 69% of Underwood (30mln $ stock exchange). 90% of Underwood, renamed Olivetti Underwood. At the end a cost of 100 mln $. Olivetti Underwood acquire Federal; established a new subsidiary, Copia. Minicomputer Programma 101’s launch in NY, 1st time a new product unveiled abroad, in the US. New plant in Harrisburg of Olivetti Underwood designed by Kahn. Harford plant closed. US 25,5% of Olivetti’s total sales, company’s largest mkt. Olivetti opens the Advanced Technology Center in Cupertino and Olivetti Research Center in Menlo Park (CA). In 10 years: dozens of Italian researchers work in these labs; hundreds Italian engineers pass through them. 1st Olivetti PC M20 takes form in Cupertino (CA). Key Actors Key Actors Olivetti-Underwood Factory in Harrisburg, PA (1966-70) by Louis I. Kahn Underwood – before and after Olivetti Key Factors V) WHY SO DIFFICULT? Economic sphere • Big business has failed to accumulate the necessary ownership advantage to justify FDI. • Italian peculiar productive specialization and firms dimensional structure. • Lack of Italian free-standing companies and major mining corporations. • Shallow financial and governance situation (not only family capitalism). • US mkt is tough, huge size and highly competitive, important attempts of entry failed (Fiat, Snia, Buitoni). Managerial sphere • Organizational and managerial weakness. • Unwillingness to co-operate, coordination failure (Fiat-IRI; within IRI). • Deficit in attitude to international partnership (Montecatini). Political sphere • Weight of State-owned companies (IRI’s obligation to invest in Mezzogiorno); political interference (Montedison). • Italy’s foreign policy (before, during and after WWII). Key Factors V) NOTWITHSTANDING • Huge American-Italian population and possibility to tap into a huge reservoir of potential consumers, savers and professionals (but for food&beverages tariff induced import substitution by ethnic Italians). • Favour that Italian goods registered in the American markets (but need to develop products with an “Italian flavour”, “made in Italy” brand, no ethnic). • The fascination that the American model arouse in the minds of leading Italian business figures (but their scarcity, their relative isolation and partial domestic adherence to the American model). VI) Conclusions • • • • • • Italy is a late-comer and until the recent past few firms have accumulated the necessary ownership advantages to expand internationally, a fortiori in a markets such as the US. WWII provoked a discontinuity in Italian FDI in the US, although not on a size comparable to Germany and Japan. Crucial development in 1950s and 1960s, but (internal mkt main driver, South Italy, EEC) … Only in the 1980s and 1990s the number of individual affiliates, plants, offices and shops in the US increase substantially. For the best part of the 20th century, the international expansion of Italian financial and nonfinancial companies was linked to the presence of an ethnic community. Italian firms, even when they had the necessary firm-level advantages, often forfeited the opportunities for lacking an open attitude to international collaboration. Italian firms apparently have had no major problems controlling their U.S. operations, both coping with local managers, and (more likely and often) sending their own best managers to the US, also to train them in the world’s most testing market. US it’s one of the toughest mkt in the world, its business environment has often proven difficult/unpredictable for Italian firms, not accustomed both to its huge size and to the highly aggressive behavior of competitors. Trying to understand the extent to which Italian firms benefited from FDI in the US, emerge the story of “talent mobility”, issues such as knowledge transfers and crosscultural learning processes. Italian Investment in the United States – Contributions to a History Federico Barbiellini Amidei Banca d’Italia Via Nazionale, 191 00184 Rome - ITALY ph.: ++39 06 47925956 fax: ++39 06 47925444 e-mail: [email protected] Andrea Goldstein OECD 2, rue André Pascal 75775 Paris Cedex 16 - FRANCE ph.: ++33 01 45248946 fax: ++33 01 45248500 e-mail: [email protected] Dipartimento di Economia politica Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia 22 novembre 2007