Bernadette
Strategic Concepts & Mechanics
Primary Evidence
"François Pinault personally took care of setting his own table and that of his wife, Maryvonne. At his table, there were, of course, the friendly presidential couple, Jacques and Bernadette, but also some of his old Breton friends, as well as Ambroise Roux and... Bernard and Hélène Arnault. "The godfather and the peer, the only ones in this assembly who, perhaps along with Albert Frère, he considers capable of competing with him," writes Nazanine Ravaï in La République des vanités. François Pinault and Bernard Arnault "follow each other's every move," she writes."
"In 1982, Michele Ferrero launched what is today the world's best-selling chocolate: the Ferrero Rocher. To name this praline (he calls it a "little pastry"), wrapped in a pharaonic golden foil and advertised with the famous commercial featuring the chauffeur Ambrogio and the noblewoman craving something tasty, Ferrero didn't rely on any brainstorming sessions. He found the name himself, taking it from the Roc de Massabielle, the cave at Lourdes where the Virgin Mary appeared to the shepherdess Bernadette, a destination for both personal and company pilgrimages. The spherical shape of the fine chocolate reflects the shape of the cave: it is the hazelnut pieces that cover the shell, along with the milk chocolate coating that envelops the toasted hazelnut, that recall the protrusions of the rock. Michele himself is the creator of the complicated machine that produces the Rocher. Moreno Cavalli, a former chemical expert at Ferrero, says, "The robot was the result of a long transformation achieved with his favorite technique: Mr. Michele did not buy a machine and use it as it was, but he would add a piece here and a piece there until he achieved the desired purpose. For this reason, he invited us, the employees, to go look at machines displayed at fairs and markets to see if we could identify new components for Ferrero. 'And when a visitor enters the factory, never leave them alone in front of the machines, they could copy them,' was his recommendation.""