Many roads lead to Rome and many to northern Italy, which is particularly interesting for German companies - the Lombardy region alone has a GDP of almost 400 billion euros, which is more than many European countries.
German companies generally want to switch from exporting to operating their own business in Italy because previous efforts have proven to be unproductive. The classic pain points often concern the distribution partners. It makes sense to initially leave sales in the fragmented Italian market to a local company. But the distributor often does not meet the sales and marketing expectations of the German company. Or the sales partner's remuneration is so high that the margin expectations can no longer be met.
The company is then looking for a country manager who will be the first employee in Italy to take charge of sales. Together with the parent company, this will establish a permanent establishment or a branch in the form of a S.r.l. (Società a responsabilità limitata, similar to the German GmbH).
If the business remains at one location, e.g. a small sales office, possibly with a showroom for the relevant products, and further delivery and invoicing from Germany, the country manager receives an employment contract with the German company. This contract is concluded with the German legal entity but is entirely governed by Italian law. The company pays taxes and social security contributions in Italy for the employee and is registered as an employer with the Italian authorities.
If, on the other hand, a S.r.l. founded, the employee is employed by it. If the new employee does not also immediately become managing director of the S.r.l. As a rule, a German manager from the parent company is registered as such in the commercial register.
Another option for expansion is to buy a company. The German company acquires the company of the previous sales partner or the business of a competitor.
All of these options have legal, fiscal and economic implications, the pros and cons of which must be carefully weighed up. Of course, these constellations also have an impact on the search for personnel in Italy. From a candidate perspective, there are new and changing options here that are very different from recruiting for a local Italian company. It is therefore very important for us as a personnel consultancy to talk intensively with you in advance of the search about your expectations, design options, reporting channels and corporate culture in order to be able to present you with the best possible candidates for your Italian business!