On this episode of All Dots Connected, Paul Hurley sat with Giuseppe Rizzo, the CEO of A. T. Cross and the former President of Moleskine America, to explore a question that sits at the heart of brand building.
Why do some simple objects become cultural symbols while others remain forgettable?
Giuseppe has helped shape three very different brands. A notebook that became a global phenomenon. A 180 year old pen company that still carries meaning across generations. A food company behind one of the world’s most beloved spreads. What links these brands is not the product. It is the mindset behind them.
Below are the key business insights from the conversation, and the strategic lessons leaders can apply in any category.
The success of Moleskine started with one choice. The brand refused to market itself as a notebook. It positioned itself as a book yet to be written. That framing transformed how people valued the object. It signaled that what you placed inside it mattered.
The result was not an office product. It was a creative companion. People shelved it like a book. They saved it. They gifted it.
The insight is simple and powerful. Commodity products become meaningful when they carry identity and aspiration. A category is reshaped when a brand defines the emotional role its product plays, not just the function.
One of the most interesting parts of the conversation centered on brand nationality. Moleskine never promoted itself as Italian. Nutella, as Giuseppe described, is widely believed to be French in France. In the United States, few people associate it with Italy.
This is intentional.
When a brand feels local, it becomes easier for consumers to claim it. It removes distance and builds familiarity. A global brand grows faster when it releases its national identity and allows each market to see itself in the story.
This lesson is essential for European companies entering the United States. The identity that matters most is the one the consumer creates, not the one the brand insists on.
Moleskine entered Target at a time when the move looked like a risk. A premium stationery brand inside a mass retailer can easily lose its aspirational value. Instead, the opposite happened. The presence of Moleskine raised the entire price point of the category. Consumers were willing to pay for quality even in a mass channel.
The key was segmentation. Moleskine preserved exclusive editions for boutiques, artists, and museum collaborations. Meanwhile, the Target assortment introduced the brand to a broader audience without diluting its prestige.
Distribution choices shape how consumers interpret value. Brands grow fastest when they combine reach with controlled elevation.
4. Heritage Is a Competitive Advantage if You Know How to Use It
Cross is one of the oldest writing instrument companies in the United States. Many people have memories of receiving a Cross pen as a milestone gift. Giuseppe sees this history as Cross’s most valuable asset. Competitors can copy a pen. They cannot copy one hundred and eighty years of stories.
The challenge is to make heritage feel relevant to new generations. That requires more than nostalgia. It requires reframing the ritual. The act of writing by hand is not simply analog. It is cognitively superior in several ways. Studies show that handwriting increases retention, supports creativity, and engages parts of the brain that typing does not.
Giuseppe is leaning into this intersection. Craft, longevity, sustainability, and mental clarity are values that resonate today. Heritage brands win when they attach timeless meaning to contemporary needs.
One of the most striking numbers mentioned in the episode is the volume of pens thrown away each year. TD Bank alone distributes seven and a half million plastic pens annually. Many of these are never used twice. Multiply that across thousands of institutions and the result is staggering.
Cross offers the counterpoint. A single pen can last decades. It can be refilled and handed down. It can commemorate a milestone. It resists the culture of waste.
This is not only a sustainability argument. It is a value argument. Consumers are willing to invest more in an object that holds meaning, lasts longer, and carries status. Brands that deliver longevity, not disposability, win customer loyalty and pricing power.
Giuseppe began his career at Ferrero, the company behind Nutella. Internally, employees used to say Ferrero was an eleven billion dollar company run like a deli. This was not an insult. It was a recognition of the culture. Decisions were fast. Leadership was present. Process existed, but instinct led.
One example highlighted this clearly. When Nutella snack packs underperformed in the United States, the team simply replaced breadsticks with pretzels. That shift came not from committees or research cycles but from observation and responsiveness.
Large companies often slow down as they scale. Ferrero was an exception. The lesson is that structure should never suffocate intuition. Companies that preserve speed while growing maintain an advantage that competitors cannot easily imitate.
Cross sits between Parker and Montblanc. It is accessible to most consumers but carries the symbolism of achievement. This balance is rare. It shows that aspiration is not tied to price. It is tied to meaning.
A Cross pen is often purchased for a graduation, a promotion, or a first job. It is a marker of progress. That is why the brand endures. Consumers do not need luxury. They need significance.
Brands that understand the emotional context of their products can occupy a unique space in the market, even without luxury margins
Throughout the episode, Giuseppe returned to a simple insight. Creativity does not begin with tools. It begins with environment. Moleskine created an environment for ideas. Cross supports the ritual of thinking on paper. These rituals allow people to slow down, observe, and generate new connections.
This is why analog tools continue to have a place in a digital world. The best brands support not just the task but the mindset.
Across all three companies, the pattern is unmistakable. Meaning is what separates a commodity from an icon. It is what shapes loyalty, pricing power, and longevity. It is the foundation of every brand Giuseppe has worked with.
Where many companies focus on features, campaigns, or efficiencies, the real work is deeper. It lives in how a product fits into someone’s life, how it represents identity, and how it creates ritual.
This conversation is a reminder that the most enduring brands are not built by accident. They are built by leaders who understand that people do not fall in love with products. They fall in love with what those products allow them to feel.
To explore the full conversation between Paul Hurley and Giuseppe Rizzo, watch the complete episode of All Dots Connected.
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