LUISE ASSOCIATES
Two centuries at the service of superyachts
In the useful phone numbers book aboard the most
prestigious superyachts cruising in Italian waters
and, more generally, along the coasts of the
central-eastern Mediterranean, there's a name which
we like to imagine circled in red: Luise
Associates. The reason is simple: keying that
number means the satisfaction of any request linked
directly or indirectly to a vessel, its passengers
and its crew. Need a helicopter for a spontaneous
trip? The owner's dog can't do without a real
English lawn for his hygienic stroll on the
spacious bridge aft? A Thai-Ukrainian simultaneous
interpreter is needed to put an unexpected guest at
ease? No problem. The female voice that answers is
always courteous, calm and confident, well used to
mobilising - at any hour of the day or night - the
vast organisational machine which since 1847 has
been serving the powerful of the earth who cruise
our waters. That was the year when Joseph Luise
implemented an idea that had run through his mind
every time he saw, from the Naples shore, the merry
swarm of people of all kinds who - with various
qualifications but more often without any - offered
their services to the yachts anchored in the bay.
Since then, almost without interruption except in
wartime, the activity has developed through the
generations to become what today is proudly
presented as an old family tradition. So it is no
surprise that it is a Luise who grants us an
interview aimed at learning more about a company
that has made a firm lifestyle of discretion and
confidentiality.
Forty-one years old, specialised in the operational
sector and in marketing, Francesco Luise works in
close contact with his two brothers, two cousins
and his uncle.
The family aspect and tradition of your company
present a reassuring image. But we imagine that you
aren't all close relations.
Of course not. Also because our business is
actually a group of 23 companies - some controlled
and some in which we have shares - that operate in
a capillary manner along the entire coast from
Montenegro to Sanremo. Our total personnel numbers
around 60, distributed among the four main offices
of Naples-Capri, Porto Cervo, Rome and Venice.
What exactly does your activity consist of?
We assist pleasure craft in resolving all kinds of
problems: from a child with a temperature to engine
breakdown, from booking a restaurant table to
organising the crew which, for the record, can
easily be seventy or eighty people on a 140 metre
yacht. But there's more to it. Since there is an
increasing movement towards treating these yachts
as commercial vessels - now obligatory for charter
activities - with our traditional function as
shipping agents we have become the interface
between shipowner and shipping authority. The
rules, which eliminate many ambiguities, are
actually recent but - it'll seem strange to you -
we had been ready to assimilate and apply them for
decades.
For example take compliance with the safety
regulations: in the eyes of the non-professional
they are like a maze of obligations and provisions
in which it seems nigh impossible to get your
bearings. But on the other hand of you want to
enjoy the considerable economic advantages
available to commercial vessels - such as cheaper
fuel - the problem has to be faced.
Who are your main competitors?
This is really an embarrassing question. Modesty
apart, we may say that in the pleasure craft field
we are the absolute European leader. It should be
understood that we had no intention of exercising a
sort of monopoly in the Mediterranean but that is
the actual situation. A good comparison would be
with the Americans. They're very good on the
hardware side. But for across the board assistance
we're better, maybe precisely due to almost two
centuries of experience.
We could say the same about France where there are
companies very good at specific things but which
cannot cover, as we do, all possible exigencies.
However, the direct relationship with the territory
must have some importance.
Fundamental I'd say. This is precisely why it isn't
at all our policy to be omnipresent as Luise
Associates. On the contrary, we are based on local
subagents, experts of the territory whom we
carefully select and suitably train with view to
guaranteeing our customers the same high
qualitative standard of service everywhere.
So at least in theory you could expand in this way
without limits. Is this your intention?
No, this isn't in our programmes. We shall
certainly be opening other companies of a strong
local character, it being unthinkable not to have a
strong presence in places like the French Riviera
and Palma de Majorca. But for the moment we want to
stay in the Mediterranean.
This is why Naples remains the fulcrum of the whole activity.
Certainly this zone is every bit as unique - if not
more so - than the places I've just named. But the
problems are different and far more complex. Take
the case of moorings, a really painful point.
Exploiting our special experience on this subject -
remember that we managed the port of Capri and
later part of the port of Ischia - we're pushing
for the recovery and development of the jetty we've
had under licence for thirty years and which in
fact bears our name. Apart from this we've got
plenty other projects, many of them still being
drawn up.
Another of our characteristics, you see, is that
we're very much to the point, without disdaining -
indeed advocating - the intervention of public companies.
Our dream is to see this bay - the potentials are
all there - becoming a port of call for all large
pleasure craft. This would enormously benefit not
only the city but the whole region and, by
reflection, the image of the entire country.
For further information: Luise Associates, Via Caracciolo 13, 80122 Naples,
Tel. +39 081 9633396, Fax +39 081 9633333, Website
www.luise.it, E-Mail Luise@Luise.it; Luise@Luise.com
|
