JANUARY 23, 2002

Recession: Yes but not if you have the right product

THESE are hard times for everyone but the Italian motorcycle company Ducati is showing that if you have the right product you can still make money. Ducati has just announced that in 2001 it had a turnover of $363m, up more than nine percent over the year 2000.

Founded in 1926, Ducati builds racing-inspired motorcycles and has won nine of the last 11 World Superbike Championship titles. The products are sold in more than 40 countries.