The value of the Vespa brand

Last year, PIAGGIO celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Vespa scooter. And the Italians were preoccupied with one question, among others: What is the Vespa brand actually worth in 2021? The renowned consulting firm Interbrand was commissioned to come up with a figure. The result is astonishing and was worth a press release to PIAGGIO: 906 million euros. A value just as impressive as the 19 million vehicles that have been sold worldwide since 1946.

Vespa: Design, lifestyle and Italian heritage

Michele Colaninno, PIAGGIO Group Board Director for Strategy, Products & Innovation, was quoted in the press release as saying: "Vespa is much more than a mobility brand; it symbolizes art, design, technology, and fun. Vespa is an icon of style: its uniqueness makes it one of the most admired and desired brands, belonging to the premium space as well as fashion and lifestyle brands. For this reason, we must begin to benchmark it against other global brands beyond pure mobility. That’s why we have asked  Interbrand, the world’s leading brand consultancy, to determine and analyze the financial value of the Vespa brand. This is not a finishing line, but simply a new starting point as we continue to build  the future of Vespa.“

The consulting agency Interbrand has been observing and evaluating brands for more than 30 years. Those who make it onto their annual list of the 100 most valuable global brands like to pop the champagne corks. Important parameters for the Vespa brand were its distinctiveness in the two-wheeler segment, the uniqueness and high recognition value of the product design, and the 75-year tradition of the brand. "The term ‘iconic’ is overused, but there’s really no other way to define this brand," says Manfredi Ricca, Interbrand’s Global Chief Strategy Officer. "Vespa is a heritage brand, and yet it is constantly evolving; it’s deeply Italian, and yet globally loved; it’s premium, and yet inclusive. Our valuation work doesn’t only set into numbers the desire and demand for this brand – it also shows Vespa to be essentially a category of one at the intersection of mobility, expression, and culture."

2021 was a strong year for Vespa. Vespa also saw success in expanding its brand ecosystem - with the launch of the new "Vespa 946 Christian Dior," a collaboration with Justin Bieber, and the global response generated by the Disney Pixar film "Luca," in which the Vespa is an integral part of the film's plot and narrative. And the Vespa has even arrived in the Star Wars universe thanks to showrunner Robert Rodriguez.

The brand value of 906 million euros represents an important milestone for this popular Italian brand and underlines the importance it has with its worldwide audience. And we at SIP Scootershop are also excited to see how the Vespa brand will develop in the coming years. The demands on the global markets are changing at a rapid pace, gasoline engines seem to be threatened with extinction and PIAGGIO will have to come up with innovations to continue to successfully manage the Vespa brand.

At this point we would like to point out our wide range of products from PIAGGIO and Vespa. If you want to know more about the current Modern Vespa models, we recommend our blog on this topic.