Summary:
Amplifon, in collaboration with Chora Media, has launched the podcast A Sound Idea to share its 75-year history, from its founding by Charles Holland in post-war Milan to its growth into a global hearing care company.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Founding Story – Amplifon was created by Charles Holland in the 1950s to help those with hearing loss, inspired by his wartime experiences in Italy.
  2. Growth & Innovation – The company expanded from mobile hearing labs to a global network of over 10,000 stores, driven by advancements in technology and leadership vision.
  3. Podcast Accessibility – A Sound Idea is a 12-minute bilingual episode available on major streaming platforms, promoting responsible listening habits.

“A Sound Idea” is now online: an Italian and English podcast created by Amplifon in collaboration with the Italian podcast production company Chora Media to tell the 75-year story of the global hearing care services and solutions company.

The podcast tells the story of a business born in a basement in downtown Milan in the early 1950s, thanks to the insight of the engineer and former British Army Major Charles Holland, who parachuted with his brigade into the Apennines of Emilia in 1944 to help the Allied troops and the Italian Resistance liberate the country from Nazi Fascism. 

At the end of the conflict, Holland settled in Italy, married Anna Maria Formiggini in Milan, and started a new business to help people who had suffered hearing damage from bombings. “Today,” tells the podcast, “we would call it a startup, but this is how a new adventure starts for Charles Holland, that same adventure [to which] he will dedicate the rest of his life: Amplifon.”

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Thanks in part to technological advances, Charles Holland brought care closer to people, first through equipped pickup trucks (the mobile hearing labs), then through creating a network of stores throughout Italy, focusing on the service provided to people by hearing care professionals, the experts who specialize in the identification and treatment of hearing loss. 

Since the late 1990s, Amplifon has embarked on a path of internationalization, also thanks to the impetus of Susan Carol Holland, daughter of Charles, vice chairperson since 1993 and chairperson since 2011. In the last decade, under the leadership of the CEO Enrico Vita, the company – listed on the stock exchange since 2001 – has grown further to more than 10,000 stores in 26 countries around the world, with more than 20,000 employees and collaborators, and around 2.3 billion euros in revenue in 2023.

The podcast, a single episode of about 12 minutes, is available on all free audio platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Amazon Music), and on Amplinet, Amplifon’s global intranet, in Italian with the voice of Carlo Notarpietro and in English with the voice of Caterina Sforza. At the beginning of the podcast telling Amplifon’s history, in line with Amplifon’s “Listen Responsibly” project, there is a request to listen responsibly by keeping headphones’ volume at no more than 60%.

Here is the link to the podcast in English: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1CvJS7L7ENmw3MFkSl6xpF?si=j9wUGk0UR7KbNTU_5bnUCA