Winners Italy

The winners of the Italy awards are:

Poste Vita
Growth (Large Companies)

Poste Vita, part of the Italian postal group, has created a range of products designed to meet savings and personal pension demands. Poste Italiane's offer is conceived to combine the need for security with the opportunity of getting returns on savings. The company was able to establish a competitive advantage for itself in a new business area. Poste Vita thus contributed to the extension of the not yet fully developed life insurance market in Italy. The company is a good example of how enterprises can use diversification to boost growth.

Fast Web
Growth (Mid-sized Companies)

Fast Web offers Internet Protocol (IP)-based broadband services, supplying voice, video, and data services to residential and business customers in Italy. The company's success comes from using existing fiber-optic lines to deliver multiple services via a single IP network. With courage and new ideas, Fast Web was able to grow rapidly in a market with established providers. The company was able to adapt very quickly to the changing demands within a dynamic market and has become the most important broadband supplier in Italy today.

Luxottica
Value Creation (Large Companies)

Luxottica is the world leader in the design, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of prescription frames and sunglasses in the mid- and premium-priced segment. It has managed to stand its ground in a very competitive market. The company was able to create long-term value by consistently pushing the market to develop further and by its ability to integrate important acquisitions into the company.

Bulgari
Value Creation (Mid-sized Companies)

Bulgari, the contemporary Italian jeweler, has expanded into other markets, including perfume and the hotel industry in recent years. With continuous innovation, strategic acquisitions and the expansion of the business into the luxury product range, Bulgari has achieved value creation in an otherwise volatile market area. Part of its success is attributable to the successful internationalization of the business and its ability to position the brand in different markets.

Finmeccanica
Innovation

The Finmeccanica group is the Italian leader in high technology. Production activities focus on aeronautics, helicopters, space and defense, with additional well-established skills and production assets in the transport, energy and information technology sectors. With Finmeccanica the Italian industry has a strong player in a technically demanding and internationally competitive market. The company was able to continuously place itself among the leading international companies through investment in research and development.

Unicredit
New Europe

The large Milan-based bank with a EUR 1,3 billion in net gains in the first six months of 2005, realized the opportunities arising out of European enlargement early on and launched a very strong investment and acquisition phase. Unicredit's solid business model was instrumental in cementing customer, competitor and market confidence in the business in the new European as well as in established markets.