BERTONE
PRESS
RELEASE
Turin, 13 February 2008 – For the first time in more than half a century, Bertone will not be attending the Geneva Motor Show this year. This painful decision was taken this morning by Lilli Bertone, Chairman of the Board of Stile Bertone SpA, who has written to the General Secretary of the Geneva Show, notifying him of the decision. The
decision not to go to the Geneva Show falls in with the Chairman’s
request to keep a low profile in matters of corporate communication, a
request that also takes account of the changed atmosphere in the media
in recent weeks. "Someone
actually had the effrontery to say that in the present circumstances, it
is I who am the weak link in the way of the industrial future of the
company. Now I am saying that I have had enough! The time has come for
everyone to accept responsibility for what they are saying and, above
all, for what they are doing. I have always worked for the good of the
company, sustaining onerous recapitalisation operations out of my own
pocket. But the rest of the family has proved not to be up to the
situation, as Nuccio Bertone feared. Carrozzeria
Bertone went through two world wars and nearly a hundred years of
history without problems but has been devastated in just three years by
ruinously amateurish management that has wiped out its turnover. In just
two years, Stile Bertone has lost more than 70 per cent of its turnover
in spite of the huge cash resources made available for its operations. A
disastrous result that has no justification and for which, last week, I
fired the general manager." "I too have made mistakes”, admitted Lilli Bertone, “when I followed the advice of the managers within the family who said I should not bother myself with operating and financial questions. But I’m still in time to remedy matters. The government commissioners have made their appearance at the Carrozzeria and I am sure they will find the most suitable solutions for the industrial future of the company. In Stile Bertone, of which I directly own 75% of the shares, we are moving forward with a thorough managerial restructuring aimed at renewing top management and relaunching the company on the international market of advanced design”. |
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