by Mattia Farinacci
Born in 1978, it was 1984 when, probably looking at Jeeg steel robots, the passion was born in Michele Grechi that would later push him to start his career in the nerd sector. Subsequently, in 1993, the global rise of the Magic card game led him on a path of friendships and passion for the game, up to the possibility of acquiring his first shop, later sold, called ‘Net City’. From there the progression was continuous: «Distribution on a national scale, resale, fairs, we opened a board game publishing house and produced the famous ‘robots’ under license». In 2017 the opening, together with the guys who still work with him, of ‘Oggetti Fantastici’, initially opened as a temporary store. A successful experiment, as Michele himself confirms: «The project worked and we opened the second store in Foligno. Today our shop in Terni is one of the largest in Italy in the sector.”
Fantastic items Inside, gadgets of all kinds inspired by cartoons and TV series, films or comics: ranging from doormats to personalized cushions, up to teacups or key rings, as well as traditional action figures. A universe of fantasy, creativity, special effects, heroes, heroines, good guys and bad guys from countless stories. What finally pushed Michele to transform his idea into reality were his nerd passion, the promising business opportunity that he saw in the business at the time and the awareness of entering an immature market, with ‘land to cultivate ‘ almost completely unexplored. In fact, by leveraging customer dissatisfaction, he began to build his fortune. To be honest, even today Michele still thinks he offers an excellent service, but not at the desired levels. The merit of being among the best in Italy does not gratify the entrepreneur at all who rather fears a generalized poor level of other companies in the sector: «When I opened the first shop I struggled to fill shelves for a surface area of 30 m2: he found goods, it seemed crazy to me; at that point I started thinking about doing distribution. I couldn’t believe that finding everything that has to do with the great culture of anime,
manga and collecting (especially robots) in Italy, were it so difficult.
Nerd world The reflection on the market is simple: «Demand and supply are not yet easily matched, thanks to the poor preparation of suppliers and professionals». Michele’s strength, perhaps, is his unwillingness to settle for emerging due to other people’s shortcomings. Rather, he spared no effort and dedicated, and still dedicates, a lot of time to his activity on a daily basis. «I always say that I work 24 hours a day. For me, opening TikTok is a study to see what works. Even when I’m not working, I’m working. I let myself be carried away by the passion of what I do: I like this world, I always study a little.” ‘Love what you do and you’ll never work a day’, is a proverbial expression that is more than fitting for his case.
The market Michele never sits idle; His efforts are also necessary due to the complexity that managing a company in this sector requires and all those aspects that cannot be known externally: «It is not enough to go to the suppliers in Italy, I have 30/40 active suppliers and 3 /4 factories in China for the production of brands which are then shipped to Italy and Europe, because we ship throughout the Old Continent. You also have to diversify your product offering: today you sell an object that may no longer have a market tomorrow. But in addition to expanding the product range to increase the number of customers at the same time, the great commitment also lies in finding producers.” And so, as with all projects that require elbow grease, nothing would be achievable alone and Objecti Fantastici is no exception: «A shoulder is needed, someone who knows how to stay by your side even ‘when it rains’: Massimiliano Natali». This is the name of the creator of the chain’s name, he is Michele’s faithful traveling companion. Today Objecti Fantastici can count on a team of ten people (plus some externals): «A good group, there is intelligence, cohesion, synergy, everyone knows which way to row; everyone has a clear idea of the direction in which the company must proceed. Towards licensing and production for example, “to do things bigger”.
Michele Grechi Ambitious challenges therefore, but the conditions to win them do not seem to be lacking at all, because if there is a common denominator for the whole team it is nerd passion. The owner boasts a past as a collector and admits: «Every now and then I ‘get away with it’. Nights ago, I couldn’t sleep and I bought a 2 meter Grendizer, but since I sold it the next day I bought another one so as not to run out.” With new goals in his belly, emotions in his eyes and dreams in his heart, he looks ahead. The entrepreneur goes out of his way and predicts growth in the coming years for a sector that can no longer be considered niche, given the range of collectors that has been progressively increasing for some time now. But despite the good business possibilities in the years to come, Michele warns about investment risks: «It is not a classic undertaking. If there is no passion, you don’t do this thing; better to invest in something else. However, if that push comes from within, working among ‘fantastic objects’ is beautiful and guarantees a load of affection that I can boast of receiving from clients and collaborators over the years. Certificates of esteem are nice, it means that you have worked well.”
Terni Speaking of the technological innovations of a dynamic and constantly evolving sector, we also record the negative opinion regarding Metaverso and NFT. For Michele they were flashes in the pan that lasted 1 and 2 years respectively.” The Apple viewer is a completely different story: «It will break everyone’s legs». Michele knows, he knows, he keeps up to date… because the key to his success is all there, in staying up to date on what’s trending «but, ultimately, the most important thing – he says almost with the eyes of a child – is that we like doing it ».
