A dream coming true: the story of Davide & Teddy

"For me Teddy is a big family, I never thought about changing jobs. I am happy here, my dream has come true”. Davide, 36, from Calabria, has been with Teddy since 2008. He is now the store manager of the Calliope Valle Aurelia store in Rome. After leaving school, he realised that a university career was not for him and decided to send his application to Teddy. A few months later he was hired. “When I was at school," he says, "I was introduced to the Terranova world because my sister worked in one of the franchise shops. I used to help her with window dressing and sales, and that was when I fell in love with this world, especially the visual part. When I was 20 years old, I decided to apply for the position of visual manager in Calabria. I went for the interview and was hired”. After a period of training in Pesaro, where he met Vittorio Tadei, he began his work experience. Or rather, he prefers to call it a great adventure. “I used to drive the van", he continues, "between the shops in my region, from Cosenza to Vibo Valentia, and I was in charge of  visual merchandising. I stayed there for four years. At the beginning it was not easy, I was young, in my early twenties, and I had to work with people who were older and much more experienced than me. Now it's 16 years later and I still hear from the same people, we have created a strong bond of collaboration and friendship”

Davide then decided to move to Rome for love, but he never thought about leaving Teddy. "It was in 2011 that I asked to be transferred to Lazio. The company understood and listened to my needs and gave me the opportunity to become Visual Manager in the Fiumicino store. I missed the real shop life, being in touch with customers. A little later, when a new store was opened in the city centre, I became store manager there. Which is also my current role at Calliope in Valle Aurelia, also in Rome".

A career full of new challenges, new adventures and new opportunities that led a young boy to make his dream come true. "As a child I always wanted to have my own shop. Since I became a store manager, I feel like an entrepreneur in my own right. Even if I am not the owner of the shop, it is as if I am. The company has taught us the value of entrepreneurship by training us, listening to us and meeting all our needs. Teddy always gives everyone a second chance. There is sharing, opportunities for growth and great attention to young people. I have been part of this wonderful team for 16 years now, and it has given me a lot of confidence. They took me on when I was very young and they knew how to let me grow. There are so many opportunities here: if a young man or woman has the desire to try an experience abroad, at Teddy there is the possibility to be part of many branches in Europe and around the world".

In his role as store manager, Davide leads a close-knit team of around ten people. "I am always there in the shop. I am not a manager who just wants to stay in his office. I want to stay in touch with people to deal with customer issues, have busy Saturdays and support my team. I always tell my people they should to learn how to be good colleagues first and then friends, because I know that such an atmosphere will strengthen the relationship over time. We often have meetings and dinners together to encourage dialogue and exchange to solve any problems. I'm a bit of a lightning rod for them, I take responsibility for dealing with the various critical issues that arise, I want them to work in a calm environment, to focus on the customers and collections. In the various confrontations we have, I always give them all the news. Just to give you an example, the company often calls me to talk about the new policies to be adopted in the area of sustainability, a very important aspect and for which the has embarked on an important path. I receive all the updates and pass them on to my staff. There is open communication, there are no secrets, there is sharing. I try to pass on everything I have learnt over the years so that they can feel part of one big family, the Teddy family”.

These words show how important the well-being of our employees is to us. We put a lot of emphasis on their training to create new career opportunities, both in Italy and abroad. Above all, we try to ensure that professional and personal growth go hand in hand. This is one of the great teachings of our founder, and it still remains a fundamental value of our corporate culture, which we strive to implement and experience every day.