The story. In August 2010 Claudio Castiglioni, a motorcycle aficionado and serial entrepreneur, bought back the iconic Italian motorcycle brand MV Agusta from Harley-Davidson. It was the third time in 20 years he had owned MV Agusta, a high-end brand that enjoyed huge success in races from the 1950s to the 1970s. He had twice relinquished this prize asset because of financial difficulties in the Castiglioni-owned portfolio of companies.
Mr Castiglioni had revived other motorcycle brands such as Ducati, and he hoped it would be third time lucky with MV Agusta.
The challenge. The financial crisis had hit an already declining motorcycle market and MV Agusta’s sales had fallen sharply.