Other kitchen appliances -- food processors, kettles and toasters -- contributed 37 percent of De’Longhi’s revenue, according to a March 2013 company presentation, up from 34 percent in 2002. The balance came from home heating and cooling systems, as well as ironing and cleaning products.
Holding Company
De’Longhi, who is in his 70s, holds his shares in the company through Luxembourg-based De’Longhi Soparfi SA, an investment company he controls through Long E Trust, an entity based in the U.K. crown dependency of Jersey, according to the company’s 2001 initial public offering prospectus.
He has collected 250 million euros in dividends since the company was listed on the Milan stock exchange in July 2001. He sold about 12 million shares, or 8 percent of the share capital, for 114 million euros in November 2012.
Representatives for De’Longhi didn’t respond to calls and e-mails seeking comment.
Family Fortune
The De’Longhi family opened a workshop selling wood-burning stoves in 1902 in Treviso, a town 20 miles north of Venice that is the birthplace of prosecco sparkling wine and home to fashion company Benetton Group SpA.
By the 1950s, the business had added a factory to make heating parts, where De’Longhi started working when he was in his twenties. He began selling the first De’Longhi consumer appliances in 1973, and incorporated his own company, G. de’Longhi SAS, which specialized in free-standing oil-filled electric radiators.
He created De’Longhi SpA in 1978, expanding its product line in the 1980s to include home appliances such as Pinguino portable air conditioners and Friggimeglio rotating deep fryers.
De’Longhi spun off its industrial heating division into publicly traded Delclima in January 2012, after a protracted price war with competitors in low-cost markets such as China. In the first quarter of 2013, Delclima reported net income of $1.3 million on $94 million in revenue, a margin of less than 2 percent. De’Longhi’s net income was $25 million on $423 million in revenue, a margin of 6 percent.