I believe that Pirelli was originally an Italian company. Looking at their website, they now just call themselves a multi-national corporation. The "Made in Germany" stamped on the side of my tire does not ring of a "cheaper labor source" - but I've seen slight references in some motorcycle magazines that reference Pirelli and a German tire maker in an almost hyphenated way. These days in the business world there could have been a merger, or a cooperative agreement (like Suzuki & Kawaski have). Pirelli has long had a reputation for making high performance sport tires (maximum road grip) and still speaks of their tires in those terms on the website.
It was very much a surprise to me that a tire from a high performance tire company, and made in Germany to boot, could be bought for less than half the price of a replacement Bridgestone. I hope that doesn't change soon.
My rear Pirelli now has 3800 miles on it. It hasn't flattened in the middle nearly as much as the original Bridgestone had at that mileage, and from the amount of tread remaining, I think it is going to easily outlast the Bridgestone. Road grip & handling have been excellent on dry roads - I have not done any serious rain riding, so I can't comment on its performance on wet roads. Someone else just mentioned a better ride with their rear Pirelli - but I have Ikon shocks (they have stock shocks), and I didn't notice any discernable change in ride quality.
So, regardless of who owns the company these days or who they are partnered with - I love the tire's performance so far, and I love the price. I am going to try to order a Pirelli front tire this week. At 9100 miles, my Bridgestone front tire still has tread - but it has obviously seen better days. It has started to flatten in the middle, and has some noticable cupping - and on some road surfaces it just doesn't behave as well as I'd like.
The only bad thought that haunts me, is that Pirelli might be undercutting market prices to get a grip (pun intended) on the super-scooter tire market, with the intention of raising prices once they have attained their targeted market share. Time will tell.