The OVS Group started in 2022 the process for accessing the Regional Program Agreement (“Investment aid for Large Enterprises”) for the realization, in Bari, of an investment aimed at creating a technological innovation hub, intended for the implementation of industrial research and experimental development projects relating to the areas of digital transformation, artificial intelligence and cyber security in collaboration with the Polytechnic of Bari, and a multifunctional logistics center, intended for the reconditioning of clothing with a view to sustainability and circular economy.

In the range of options analyzed by the OVS Group, the choice of the Puglia Region, and in particular of the city of Bari, was dictated by a combination of factors which, together, confer unique opportunities in the Italian panorama.

The Program Agreement of the Puglia Region, aimed at large companies, is a very interesting tool for facilitating investments which, otherwise, would be economically unsustainable or significantly reduced in scope. This is the case, for OVS, of the back shoring of the reconditioning activities of garments, today labor intensive and carried out in low-cost EU countries and which, thanks to investments in automation and localization, lead to significant reductions in labor and transport costs. , as well as benefits on the innovation of the entire process from a circular economy perspective. In terms of innovation, the percentage of subsidies on research projects provided for in the Program Agreement and the reliefs on personnel costs will allow OVS to increase the scope of investments in digital transformation and the relative rate of innovation thanks to collaborations with centers of excellence and innovative realities present in the Region.

In the decision we made, a key factor was the growing competitiveness and attractiveness of the area: we have been observing, for years now, an important rate of growth in the Region, and in particular the city of Bari. The infrastructures are continuously improving thanks to numerous active / planned public projects; the presence of an ecosystem of industrial poles and companies with significant specializations, which include the clothing-fashion sector, opens up further development projects with a view to localization and circular economy; the Polytechnic of Bari, which in recent years has climbed numerous rankings internationally, offers young graduates in line with the skill needs we have in the world of digital and innovation. With the Politecnico, OVS plans to launch training courses and a structured partnership capable of setting up dedicated and structured work teams, starting a virtuous effect of synergy and strengthening of skills, thanks to the possibility of engaging the best on the investment project academic talents in the area and a positive circuit of interaction between R&D and the company with positive repercussions for OVS, for the quality of research and for the employment prospects of young graduates.

OVS’s investment will lead to the development of a Newco, OVS Innovation and Sustainability, with the generation of new jobs for at least n. 125 direct work units, in addition to further positive employment impacts on the related industries present in the region. It is therefore an investment which, thanks to regional support, is able to generate a positive impact on the territory both from a productive and social point of view and which opens up numerous prospects for further growth thanks to the numerous opportunities present in the region and the attention paid to strategic issues today for retail, digitalization, circular economy, localization.