More than 500 guests attended the MBA Lecture last Thursday, January 15 with Oscar Farinetti in the prestigious location of Villa Guastavillani. The event was attended by professionals, managers and the entire community of Bologna Business School.
The Lecture, held by the Founder and President of Eataly, was very successful. He explained the keys to success for the Made in Italy food around the world: “In Italy, the food industry can offer a lot of opportunities. We must focus on biodiversity and excellence. In the case of Eataly, 4000 jobs in Italy in just 8 years.”
Through an extraordinary journey, starting in Turin, in just 10 years Eataly has opened 14 stores in Italy alone, in addition to the 6 already present on an international scale:Istanbul and Dubai, Tokyo and Osaka, Chicago and New York. In December a new opening was announced in Germany and last week the Wall Street Journal announced that the closure of the budget showed positive figures (5000 customers for a business of €400 million in 2014, in the New York headquarters alone).
During the Lecture “From the grounds up, the secrets of Eataly”, Oscar Farinetti explained that the idea was born from the intuition about the fact that “the country with the most appreciated food and wine in the world did not have a retailer worldwide.” Although “Italians still export less food than France, Germany or even Belgium.”
The President and Founder of Eataly then explained what the values for the creation of a successful business are, “First of all, it is important to create employment”, “second, giving a new life to forgotten places: as happens with FICO in Bologna, or with Eataly in Turin, born from the factories of the ancient Carpano company (producers of Punt e Mes)“. “The third value is bearing in mind that Food & Wine are cool!” And “Italian food is excellent and unique. You have to think global and act local”.
To future managers and people who want to fulfill their objectives and that are mainly driven by passion, the founder of Eataly suggested to “focus on Italian food identity in the world, creating employment.”
Be inspired!