Selle San Marco

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Selle San Marco
A Leading Saddle Brand for 76 Years Running
Innovation and Evolution:
Selle San Marco
A blend of continuous technical innovation and ultrafashionable design have made Italy the source for almost
all of the world’s top saddles, and 76 year old Italian brand
Selle San Marco reigns at the top of the market. Famous for
its high-quality hand-made saddles, the company, founded
in 1935, has mastered the art of embracing tradition while
still keeping up with the times.
Text & Photos: Daphne Chen
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BMU 2011 Autumn
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S
elle San Marco was first established in Rossano Veneto, a small town in northeast Italy.
Founder Luigi Girardi, grandfather of current
chairman Luigi Girardi, grew up working as a
street sweeper and in textile factories. As soon
as he succeeded in borrowing 100 lire, however,
he hired 40 employees and opened the Selle San
Marco saddle factory. Though business was hard,
San Marco earned a spot as the top leather saddle
manufacturer during the war, and Girardi’s handmade racing seats soon grew so famous that the
town became known as Home of the Saddles. Interestingly, saddle weight at that time correlated
directly to price, so the heavier the leather of the
saddle, the higher the price – quite a contrast from
today.
▲Selle San Marco President Luigi Girardi (left) with his mother Giuseppina
(middle), who is at the factory every day to manage the saddle production
process. GM Giovanni Girardi is on the right.
The History-Making Concor Saddle
▲The Concor saddle made history.
In 1970, Girardi, his son Antonio, and his
son’s wife Giuseppina designed the first modern
saddle. The Concor saddle was the first to employ
the same long and narrow streamlined shape, nylon
bottom, foam padding and leather surface as many
of today’s. Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong won the seventh Tour de France on a Concor
saddle, and cyclists Greg Lemond and Bernard
Hinault are also famous Concor users. In the early
1980s, Selle San Marco became the largest saddle
manufacturer in the world, and went on to launch
a series of renowned products such as the Integra,
Pirelli 600, Squadra HDP and 1990 Bertone SE.
Rich Heritage
Selle San Marco has remained a family business for three generations. Current chairman Luigi,
named for his grandfather, has generated energy,
passion and vision for
the brand, working with
his three siblings Luca,
Giovanni, and Antonella,
and his mother, Giuseppina. The family believes
they were born with a
mission─to create the
world’s greatest saddles.
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Selle San Marco
▲Since 1935, famous Italian saddle brand Selle San Marco has remained
a family business, and is now in its third generation.
▲GM Giovanni Girardi (right) is responsible for sales, and his sister
Antonella Girardi also works at the company.
▲The company has a collection of old San Marco leather saddles.
▲Selle San Marco's classic riveted leather saddle, the Regal Girardi.
▲San Marco created a saddle for Ferrari.
▲The factory still produces large quantities of traditional heavy-load
saddles.
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Innovation, Aesthetics, Design and Evolution
To this end, Selle San Marco invests heavily
in biomedical research and rigorous professional
race testing, and sponsors riders and teams in order
to gain valuable feedback. Selle San Marco attaches
great importance to innovation and design, and is
constantly trying out new materials and cuttingedge technologies in the pursuit of the breakthrough
originality exemplified by the brand’s Arrowhead,
Superleggera, Carbon FX and TT saddles. According to Luigi, Selle San Marco places special importance on creativity, aesthetics, innovation, design,
evolution, and the ability of San Marco products to
meet the challenges of the future.
Creativity: In 1978, the Concor saddle became the
world’s first narrow and elongated saddle with a nylon bottom, foam padding, and leather surface.
Aesthetics: Launched in 1990, the Integra, Pirelli
600, Squadra, HDP and Bertone SE show off a keen
sense of style and immense popularity.
Innovation: New technologies such as the Arrowhead, Superleggera, Carbon FX and TT saddle were
introduced in 2000.
Design: The choice of magnesium alloy in the
Magma saddle, introduced in 2005, has been reaffirmed by several Design Awards.
Evolution: The 2008 launch of Zoncolan combined technology and ergonomics with long-term
professional experience.
Ability to meet the challenges of the future:
The Regale 2009 version embodies the company’s
respect for its heritage and determination to carry
on the legacy into the future.
Annual Output of 600,000 Saddles
The Selle San Marco plant covers an area of
16,000 square meters, employs 30 workers, and produces 600,000 saddles annually. Saddles for aftermarket repair are 100% produced in Italy. For the
past five or six years, OE products have been made
in cooperation with Cionlli. In addition, saddles for
city bikes and trekking bikes are sold under the BioAktive brand, which focuses on incorporating biology into structural design for truly ergonomic and
comfortable products. The majority of products are
manufactured in Italy, with only two types made in
Taiwan. Throughout its 76 years, Selle San Marco’s
rich heritage, unique products, and solid family
team have shown it to be truly irreplaceable.
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