How we are getting stronger together through challenging times

The world is moving faster than ever. Technology, economy and society keep evolving at a high pace. As a result, the speed with which things change often outpaces the ability of any organization to predict the change itself.  

As challenging as it sounds this ever-changing scenario can actually be the turning point to establish whose leadership works best. Because if it is true that often is not possible to predict the change - an organization can still adapt to it with agility and bold decisions. And the adaptive capacity of the leadership determines how quickly and efficiently companies can succeed in this fast-moving world. 

In Amplifon this perspective resonates since day one. We are responsibly dealing with the pandemic outbreak ensuring the health and the safety of our people. On the same token we keep consolidating Amplifon’s global leadership in the hearing care industry and its positive role in modern society. 

Looking at the results that we’ve been able to achieve in this first half of 2020 and making a pause to reflect on how we embraced the challenge, it makes me realize that: 

It’s still possible to achieve great results during unpredictable times.   

Encouraging Financial Results Despite Covid-19 Emergency

We achieved record financial results in 2019. We did it for the fifth year in a row, confirming the effectiveness of our strategy and above all our strong ability to execute it. We registered excellent performances on the Stock Exchange as well, with share price almost tripled since 2015.

Then 2020 came, with a two-speed force trend. In fact, we recorded an excellent performance in January and February growing around 10%, with an impact of the Covid-19 emergency in March, when the lockdown started to be in force across different countries.

April was characterized by the intensification of the restrictive measures of the government authorities, with several countries in lockdown and a direct impact on traffic in the stores and therefore on sales. We recorded a sharp drop in Italy, France, Spain and the US with better performances in Germany and Australia.

May was the month of the slackening of the restrictive measures in most of the countries in which we operate. For this reason, we have seen a significant improvement in store traffic and sales, even better than our initial expectations. And today we are almost fully operational again.

In the first half of 2020 we were able to maintain an EBITDA margin of around 21.4%, despite the drop in revenues of 26.2%, also thanks to the impressive results of the measures implemented to mitigate the financial impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. 

These results were possible only because we have been able to react to this unprecedented crisis always acting as one team, with responsiveness and determination. Everyone has contributed, with no exception whatsoever. This is by far the best reward for me as CEO of Amplifon, and I am extremely proud of what we have achieved together.

Although we remain cautious about the future developments of the pandemic, we now look at the second half of 2020 with confidence and we see improving business trends in all the main markets in which we operate in.

The proximity we have experienced with our customers through this difficult period has made Amplifon even stronger than before. 

How We Managed the Crisis from Covid-19

From day one, our priority has been to ensure the health and safety of all our people and our customers.

During the outbreak of the pandemic our decision was to remain “always open” in order to stay even closer than ever to our customers. A decision certainly not always financially convenient but that I believe will contribute to consolidate our leadership in the future.

In fact, our hearing care professionals kept taking care of them even during phase one of the pandemic, as hearing care has been considered an essential service in most of the 28 countries in which we operate.

For this reason, we had the opportunity to continue operating during the lockdown as well - one of the most delicate phases of our recent history. We then confirmed the attention to the needs and well-being of employees and customers by defining a new operating model through a set of health and safety measures for our stores and offices. 

To achieve this, we have partnered with most prominent international experts in the field of virology and microbiology and otolaryngology, in a 360-degree perspective capable of taking into consideration all our collaborators and the different workspaces.

In the past months we’ve been constantly exploring new ways to support, connect and engage with our customers.

This led the whole company to evaluate all the workflows we already had in place, but also how fast we’ve been able to adapt to the new scenario and evolve. And if it is true that an opportunity can arise from every crisis, I can confidently say that the Covid-19 emergency represented the opportunity for Amplifon to accelerate its digital transformation journey. In a world where suddenly we’ve been forced to adopt the social distancing, it’s easy to imagine what crucial role has played a well-organized ecosystem as the Amplifon one.

All this has been possible thanks to the 17.000 Amplifon people who stayed close to our customers worldwide and also to the customers themselves who kept relying on our support and advice. Sometimes small things can have a big impact. That’s why we decided few weeks ago to activate a dedicated global campaign and send to our people and clients a simple message. Thank you.

What We Have Done for the Community

During the Covid-19 emergency we have extended our intervention in favor of society outside our workspaces. We have engaged with the community, generating a real impact on the lives of thousands of citizens in difficulty and in need of assistance.

Our commitment to We Care, the Amplifon Citizenship Program, went ahead. In March, before the pandemic was revealing its dramatic outreach, we contributed to the World Hearing Day, providing our support to the institutions in fighting the stigma against people with hearing loss and we further consolidated our “Ci Sentiamo Dopo / Listen Responsibly” project, aimed to raise awareness among young people on the importance of responsible listening and inclusion.

Starting from April, the Company has put in place many activities to support and state its proximity to the communities and the people most in need. Among many initiatives, we have collaborated with Red Cross and its 22 Italian local committees to distribute free kits for the benefit of the senior vulnerable people. These kits contained new batteries necessary for the proper functioning of the acoustic devices of any brand.

In the midst of the lockdown Amplifon Foundation and Buzzi Foundation partnered to support the National Healthcare System in Italy in facing the Covid-19 epidemic in a double perspective: with an immediate financial response and supporting the creation of a new pediatric Otology Pavillon for the long term.

Also GAES Fundación Solidaria and Miracle-Ear Foundation have been very impactful along Q2 in actively listen to local community needs in Spain and US, and timely provide smart and simple solutions to support hearing impaired and senior people and make the difference for them and their families. This has been a mark of our purposeful citizenship for decades. For example, Miracle-Ear Foundation has delivered more than 20,000 hearing aids to more than 13,000 children and adults in 30 years of history and active involvement with the local community.

In the pandemic era we all have to take a position as leaders and organizations. In Amplifon we decided to do our part and to have a positive impact on our people, our community and our society. I’m confident that we’re moving to the right direction.

I’m very proud of keep leading this team out of the storm through these challenging times. That was only possible because we can rely on thousands of committed, passionate and focused people.

In the most challenging and unforeseeable conditions we are truly acting as one team and as a global leader.