20 years of the Italian Garden

1996-2016: Giardino Italiano is blowing out 20 candles on the cake and, in its Anniversary year, wants to celebrate together with its customers.
Discover all the surprises Giardino Italiano has in store for you this special year!

The story of Giardino Italiano: the early years online

The story of Giardino Italiano begins back in 1996, when the Internet in Italy was still a novelty looked upon with suspicion by the business world. But this is not "just" the story of a small pioneering company — it is the story of two far-sighted people who courageously believed in, and stubbornly pursued, the idea of doing business on the web. They are Susanna, the founder of Giardino Italiano, and Dario, her husband and business partner from the very beginning.

«Thirty years ago, I was doing graphics with pencils and felt-tip pens – Susanna recalls. One day, Dario brought home a Macintosh, with which I began to experiment with computer graphics. About ten years later, using HTML code, I started to create something for the web. I was sceptical, but Dario insisted. It was 1995.»

The dream was to try to create a business entirely online — a simple yet innovative idea for Italy at the time: «I wanted to try to offer typical Italian artisan products abroad – Susanna continues –.
It didn't go very well. The Italian market and the manufacturers were not ready to hear about the internet.»

They were not commercially prepared for a globally oriented approach: the policy of those years differentiated customers according to geographic origin, applying different price bands at the regional level.

After numerous attempts to contact Italian artisan manufacturers, the only ones who could not say no to Susanna's idea came through personal or family business contacts, and so the business got off the ground.

Giardino Italiano appeared online for the first time in March 1996.
And finally the first order arrived from the site — from the United States, by regular post, paid by credit card transmitted by telephone to CartaSi for authorisation.

The first product purchased was a Pontevecchio fountain pen by Visconti: it was the beginning of a story twenty years long — and still going strong.

Giardino Italiano: pioneers in quality processes for online business

Fifteen years ago, Giardino Italiano SaS became Giardino.it Srl. Since then, and still today, Giardino Italiano is a women-led company, with Susanna as founder and driving force, Shara in the shipping department in San Giuliano, and Simona for content and press relations.

In line with its founding philosophy, Giardino Italiano continues to look ahead. Over the years, the company has distinguished itself on multiple occasions for innovations in quality processes that protect the online customer:

• The Fidelity badge: Since October 1996, Giardino Italiano introduced the Fidelity badge and applied customer loyalty systems;
• Quality for online purchasing: While the collective imagination associated online commerce with low prices, Giardino Italiano has always offered quality products, including at high and upper-mid price points;
• Personalised service: Despite being an exclusively online business, Giardino Italiano's customers can contact Susanna at any time and speak directly with her. This gives them confidence.
• Giardino Italiano is certified by AICEL's SonoSicuro badge: Giardino Italiano is a member of AICEL – Italian Association of Electronic Commerce – and has earned the SonoSicuro badge, which certifies e-commerce sites through a consumer protection protocol.

And finally, how can we fail to mention Susanna's passion for her work… Susanna not only frequents the forums and online pages dedicated to the products she sells — including social media — but has long been developing formulas to give benefits to the most loyal customers and newsletter subscribers.

And the results seem to reward these quality policies: in addition to maintaining professional and stable relationships with suppliers, Giardino Italiano attracts between 700 and 1,000 new customers per year, of whom around a third return to buy from them again.

The trust of customers and suppliers is also due to the supplementary services that Giardino Italiano offers its readers — such as the app, the website (created and maintained directly by Susanna) and the blog — which together provide detailed product information often not available elsewhere.

Giardino's aesthetic style, at once comforting and seductive, is another key factor in the company's success.

If you are not yet subscribed, do so now… it is a unique opportunity not to miss Giardino Italiano's best offers.

20 Years of Giardino: surprises and offers you cannot miss

There has never been a shortage of news at Giardino Italiano: back in 2011, Giardino Italiano created an exclusively designed pen to celebrate its 15 years of activity, while in 2013, for its 18th anniversary, Giardino Italiano renewed its logo. Now, to celebrate its first twenty years on the web, Giardino Italiano has a series of surprises and extraordinary offers in store:

• The Anniversary Pen: Giardino Italiano is working on an exclusively designed pen to celebrate its twentieth anniversary. A gem not to be missed for all collectors and enthusiasts. If you don't want to miss it, follow the blog!
  
• Milan stays at Giardino Blu: During 2016, Gold customers of Giardino Italiano will be able to stay at Giardino Blu for one night at a cost of just €1 for their stay in Milan. Italy's business capital has never been so accessible!
• Giardino.it goes 2.0: The Giardino Italiano website is embracing 2.0 and in 2016 will become even more open to information exchange with its users. The site will open up to reader and customer feedback with new functions for commenting on products and shopping experiences.
• Surprise discounts for Newsletter subscribers: Staying informed about Giardino Italiano's news pays off even more this year. For this special Anniversary year, Susanna has surprise special discounts in store for newsletter subscribers. How can you not take advantage? Subscribing costs you less than a minute of your time.
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  «At Giardino Italiano, we want to be competitive, while always maintaining a high standard of service quality. What is more, we offer all the warmth and Italian spirit,» Susanna concludes.

  So… in this 2016, keep an eye on the Giardino Italiano website, blog and newsletter. You won't regret it!