“Life is too short to eat and drink badly”. With this slogan, which has become a real mantra, Oscar Farinetti began his adventure in the field of large-scale distribution in 2003, perhaps without imagining the success he would achieve. This path seems to have reached its logical conclusion on Tuesday, when the Board of Directors led by Andrea Guerra gave the go-ahead for the company's listing on the Stock Exchange.
"The journey has formally begun - declared Guerra - we are starting in a decisive and convinced manner". The task was entrusted to Tip, the investment bank of Gianni Tamburi (20% shareholder) of the group. Tip will define the methods of the IPO and the times of entry to Piazza Affari. The board of directors confirmed its intention to bring 30/33% of the capital to the list and that the placement will be reserved for both institutional investors and the Italian retail public.
Oscar Farinetti, an eclectic character and close to Matteo Renzi in the past years, has announced that he wants to bet on a hard core of Italian families in the capital, but there will certainly be a part of the offer reserved for the group's over 6 employees.
The entry on the Stock Exchange could take the form of a mixed offer: not only the pro-quota sale by the shareholders, but also a part in capital increase. This possibility has yet to be evaluated, but it seems to entice the Piedmontese entrepreneur.
The journey of Farinetti and Eataly has so far been full of successes. After selling Unieuro to Dixons Retail (British public company) for 528 million euros, Farinetti has bet on a new, innovative and potentially winning project. So it was.
The first store was opened in 2007 in Turin. Then it was time for Genoa (2011), Rome (2012, next to the Ostiense station, the company's largest store), Bari, Milan and so on. Eataly is now all over the world: four stores in the United States (2 in New York, one in Chicago and Boston), Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Germany, Dubai, Riyadh.
The 2017 financial statements will close with consolidated revenues of 470 million and an Ebitda of 25 million euros. The investment banks assign a total value that varies between 1,9 and 3,6 billion euros.
Farinetti's work has not always been judged positively. Many label him as a "false do-gooder", criticizing him for some choices and for his work philosophy. For now, the numbers speak for themselves. Famous for his flexibility and lover of Anglo-Saxon organizational methods, right now he would say, without a doubt: the best is yet to come.
