Oscar Farinetti
Oscar Farinetti | |
---|---|
Born |
Alba, Italy | September 24, 1954
Culinary career | |
Cooking style | Italian |
Natale Farinetti, known as Oscar (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɔskar fariˈnetti]; Alba, 24 September 1954), is an Italian businessman and investor. Farinetti is the current owner of the high-end Italian food mall chain Eataly and founder of the consumer electronics chain UniEuro.
Personal life & career
Farinetti was born in Alba, Italy. His father was insurgent and deputy mayor of Alba Paolo Farinetti.[1] After attending the liceo classico Govone in Alba, he started studying Business in Turin in 1972, but dropped out from college in 1976[2] His father Paolo founded a small local supermarket in 1967 and named it UniEuro: few years later Oscar became actively involved in the business. He was appointed board member in 1978, and then CEO & Chairman until 2003.[3] The same year he decided to sell UniEuro to Dixons Retail for £230m.[4] In 2004 he founded the high-end Italian supermarket Eataly. The New York Times has described it as a "megastore" that "combines elements of a bustling European open market, a Whole-Foods-style supermarket, a high-end food court and a New Age learning center."[5] The company is based in Monticello d'Alba, Cuneo, Italy and currently controls 28 stores in 6 different countries (United States, Japan, UAE, Italy, Turkey and Brazil).[6]
On March 18, 2014 Eataly opened its big 5,000 sqm store in Piazza XXV Aprile in Milan. In November 2016, Eataly opened in Copenhagen.[7]
Media coverage
Farinetti's disruptive model has received significant media attention. His methods have been covered by publications including Forbes,[8] The New York Times,[9] The Atlantic[10] and the Chicago Tribune.[11]
References
- ↑ "ANPI, Biografia Paolo Farinetti" (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d'Italia. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ↑ Sartorio, Anna (7 October 2008). Il mercante di utopie. La storia di Oscar Farinetti, l'inventore di Eataly (in Italian). Sperling & Kupfer. p. 56. ISBN 8820046210.
- ↑ "Oscar Farinetti racconta Oscar Farinetti" (in Italian). Il Post. 24 February 2012.
- ↑ "Dixons in £230m UniEuro takeover". The Independent.
- ↑ Tardi, Alan (24 October 2007) Spacious Food Bazaar in Turin Plans Manhattan Branch, The New York Times
- ↑ "Eataly Chicago focuses on quality, education". Supermarket News.
- ↑ "Eataly opens in Copenhagen". Eataly website. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- ↑ "Eataly Chicago, Is This The Future Of Food Retailing?". Forbes. 12 February 2013.
- ↑ "Big Box Italian Food, in Rome". The New York Times. 19 July 2012.
- ↑ "The Supermarket of the Future". The Atlantic. 1 May 2007.
- ↑ "Eataly comes to Chicago". Chicago Tribune. 29 August 2014.