The Italian Luxury Yacht Market Enters Georgia
Ultimate excellence is luxury yachting meeting Italian design. AzimutBenetti, based in Viareggio, Italy, is the leading yacht-manufacturing company. Established in 1969 by Paolo Vitelli, the company continues to push the boundaries of quality, design and performance.
One factor behind the company’s success has been its intent to strengthen its global yachting network, with a record number of 70 sales and assistance offices worldwide. After six years of ceaseless negotiations, the company decided to enter the Georgian market with the name Azimut Yacht Georgia. Although the country lacks the necessary infrastructure to fully support the yachting industry, AzimutBenetti put faith in its potential. AzimutBenetti has always had novelty as part of its heritage. All this became possible due to both the company’s reformist and farsighted character and the wholehearted efforts of one Georgian member of the AzimutBenetti Group.
GEORGIA TODAY interviewed Giorgi Chikvaidze, the Regional Director of Azimut Yacht Georgia.
How did you enter the Yachting Industry?
I visited Cannes as a tourist about seven years ago. In the course of my visit, I attended the Cannes Yachting Festival. The experience was so enthralling that I decided to inquire into the realm of luxury yachting. Shortly after beginning this quest, I was confident that I wanted with all my heart to become a part of it. Altogether positive that I had found my passion, I went straight to the leading yacht-manufacturing company- AzimutBenetti. Being overweight at the time, I immediately learned that my upfront enthusiasm was not enough to set foot into the industry. I returned a year later with a completely altered lifestyle. I was admitted at the AzimutBenetti Academy. Now, 6 years later, In Georgia, I am the regional manager for the same company.
Do you consider working for AzimutBenetti to be the perfect job for you?
Being a veterinarian by profession, making way into the luxury boating sector came as a total transformation in my life. I was immediately seduced by the magic that goes into the creation of an Azimut yacht- the Italian craftsmanship combined with an aesthetic approach and striking technological innovation. The Italian yachting industry is a production sector of quality and excellence, recognized all over the world.AzimutBenetti embraces professionalism and seeks perfection. I have come to admire the company’s competence in general. The targets include maximizing product quality, going the extra mile to gratify all kinds of clients, maintaining workplace safety, safeguarding the environment through the adoption of technology designed to minimize atmospheric emissions, etc. Starting to work for theAzimutBenetti group for me was a dream come true. In this career I found myself; it’s what I feel I should be doing. I can tell from my own experience that if one learns to detect and follow that gleam of light that we call the dream, anything is attainable. I now aim to help those young people who share the passion with me to enter the industry without having to face as many obstacles as I did.
How did AzimutBenetti become a partner for Georgia?
I always wanted to engage Georgia in the yachting industry. After five years of earnest trying, my efforts proved worthwhile. In 2018, a branch of the company entered the country with the name AzimutBenetti Georgia. There are quite a few complications that still need to be addressed. The lack of infrastructure and the nonexistence of a yachting culture are to name just a few. Nonetheless, I find it quite promising that certain infrastructural projects have already been launched. Quite a few potential yacht-buyers have emerged in Georgia and several yachts have already been sold at the Cannes Yachting Festival. More than that, the demand from tourists to rent yachts has been steady. We continue working tirelessly on issues like this. The vital agreements that we have reached with the Maritime Transport Agency will be actualized next year. We also plan to select students from Batumi Academy each year and offer them free training in our factories. These youngsters will be knowledgeable in all required services to follow their passion once their country develops the essential infrastructure to fully support its yachting industry.
Tell us about the upcoming Yachting Festival in Cannes.
The Yachting Festival in Cannes is a pivotal event for the industry, where all the major companies come to showcase their new models. Visitors can appreciate the latest yachts on display. For the fifth year in a row,AzimutBenetti has maintained the status of the Year’s Leading Yacht Production Company due its outstanding design and innovative achievements. The company celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Four grandiose events have already been held in Dubai, New York, Cannes and Hong Kong; the grand finale is to be held in Italy at the Azimut headquarters in December. The whole Italian factory will be transformed into an event location, hosting high profile guests.
What is the most significant impact you’ve had on your current workplace?
This year an occasion of great substance occurred for my country, which in part can be attributed to my efforts. The World Yachting Awards are held traditionally each year on the fifth day of the Cannes Yachting Festival. The event hosts a wide range of influential guests. Being a part of the organizational committee of the ceremony, I arranged for a Georgian vocalist to open and close the event. This put my country in the spotlight. In just a few days, an agreement was reached that starting in 2020 the Yacht Designer Award will be held in Georgia on an annual basis. For three full days each year, the country will host a myriad of respected and affluent people. All this is promising for future investments. This is much more than my accomplishment as a business operator; this is a promise of a more enterprising future for my country.