Italian food emporium operator Eataly has ended 2017 with a profit of €1 million, compared to a loss of €21 million the previous year.
Presenting the results at the first Eataly Press Day, the company’s executive president, Andrea Guerra, said that turnover at the business grew by 20%, to €465 million, compared to 2016.
Guerra anticipates the business to continue growing at an annual rate of around 17%.
Last year, a capital increase of €20 million was also fully implemented, which will help strengthen the group's assets to achieve its growth targets for the coming years.
New Developments
Highlights for the company over the past year included the opening of the first store on the US West Coast (in Los Angeles) and of FICO Eataly World in Bologna, which has had one million visitors since November 2017.
Earlier this year, Eataly opened a new outlet in Stockholm, with new openings planned for Las Vegas, Toronto, the UAE, Paris and Verona.
Regional Sales
Sales rose by 7% in Italy and by 48% in the US, which is set to become the leading market in revenue terms.
This year’s turnover, for 2018, should reach €535 million, the company said, growing to €575 million in 2019 and between €690 million and €720 million in 2020.
EBITDA is also set to improve, accounting for around 9% of turnover by 2020.
In the first three months of 2018, Eataly recorded an increase in sales of 19.6% at current exchange rates, equal to 24.7% at constant exchange rates.
The company plans to open three to four stores each year and conduct an IPO in 2019. Currently, the Farinetti family owns 60% of the business, TIP owns 20%, and Carlo Alberti owns 20%.
Guerra also revealed that talks are under way to find a strategic Chinese partner to help Eataly launch in China, adding that the decision will be taken by the summer.
Eataly CEO Francesco Farinetti said that there were almost 33 million visitors to Eataly’s stores, where about 30,000 meals were served each day across its network of outlets.
Elsewhere, Eataly has signed a contract with Satispay that will allow for payments to be made from restaurant tables, thus reducing waiting time, reports Milano Finanza. Although the service is initially limited to the Italian market, the partnership could be extended to the rest of Europe and the US.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
