Eataly and Signa Retail have set up a joint venture throughout the Italian food chain will open, starting from the end of this year, new stores in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland. Stephan Fanderi, Karstadt ceo of Signa Retail, said: “Eataly is the most fascinating food concept store in Europe. We are pleased to be taking it to Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland. Our joint venture foresees an expansion by 2021 with at least 5 more stores, besides the one in Munich. We want Eataly to become an international business, just like what we are envisioning in Munich. And not only this, we would like to develop some of the Eataly concepts in smaller stores. Both the growth of our Le Buffet format and the transformation of Le Buffet in Eataly stores are being examined closely by the KaDeWe Group and Karstadt Warenhouse”. The first point of sale, will be opened by the end of the year, in the centre of Munich. There are more stores that will be opened soon after in other locations.
The new partnership between Signa Retail and Eataly includes the expertise of both companies. It sees Eataly committed to the selection of products, the marketing and the training policy, while Signa will offer its long-time experience in the catering industry (with Le Buffet), its organisational model (Karstadt Warenhouse) and its specialisation in the field of real estate in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Eataly’s eco Luca Baffigo Filangieri, said that “Munich will be our first point of sale to be opened in Europe, following the overseas stores in Japan, the Usa, Turkey, Dubai, Brazil and South Korea.” To date, Eataly has set up 26 stores in the U.S., Brazil, Dubai, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and Italy, and is currently one of the fastest-growing companies in the world in the catering industry and food and wine business. The company’s development envisages opening new points of sale, since at the end of 2014 the firm had reported revenues of 400 million euro.