[vc_column_textDrafted 30 October 2020, updated 30 March 2025
Interview by Angelo Frigerio of Alimentando
End of activities, after 10 years, for journalist Luigi Rubinelli’s site. Many satisfactions and a few bitter tidbits. Especially in recent times. Because of the Conad-Auchan affair.
The closure of a specialised site is always sad news. One less voice can only impoverish the debate on retail and its surroundings. If the voice is that of Retailwatch, the authoritative site of journalist Luigi Rubinelli, we are sure it will be missed. We caught up with him on the phone for an all-round chat.
Let’s start with the figure: on Wednesday evening you closed Retailwatch.
That’s right. After 10 years of honourable service. Personally, I have been in the retail business since much earlier: it was the year 1982.
Quoting Mario Capanna, we could say: ‘Formidable those years’?
Even though Capanna was an ‘enemy’ of mine in the days of the student movement in Milan, I have to say that the definition fits like a glove. They were certainly years of journalism in the field. Meaning? I always moved around to see new shops, attend conferences, in many cases moderating them. And, if I have to be honest, I have always found more innovation abroad than in Italy. The country that had the most innovation was Holland, with the Ahold group. But our retailers seem to care little about what happens abroad: they don’t look at Ahold, or Aldi in Germany or Tesco in the UK. Retailwatch’s statistics speak for themselves: our compatriots’ interest in foreigners has always remained low. And that is not good.
What have you had the most satisfaction from?
From the individuals who listened to me, provided suggestions and gave ideal and economic support. Thus enabling me to work calmly and serenely.
Serenity which, in recent years, has been somewhat lacking… With Covid, the prevailing tendency has been to close in on oneself, unfortunately. Looking at the work of us journalists with a lack of attention and respect… You introduced an interesting word: respect.
Has anyone ever disrespected you?
In 10 years I have received six letters from lawyers. Some of them particularly harsh, going into the substance of articles.
How did you react?
By pointing out that they are opinions and responding in kind, with the help of a lawyer. However, it hurts to receive threatening letters about opinions, even in the conditional tense. I’ve always wondered why: it’s a degree of carelessness and arrogance that is baffling.
Have the attacks intensified in the last year?
Unfortunately, yes. But, I repeat, they are incomprehensible. More than articles, I have always written opinions. Without ever hiding or running away. Far from it.
Does such a climate have anything to do with the decision to close?
In the last period – I mentioned it – there was constant pressure through whatsapp messages, e-mails and so on. To be honest, I felt a little nauseous. On the Auchan-Conad issue, I received several e-mails and messages from Auchan workers. One of these e-mails particularly marked me. It was from a man laid off, with a disabled wife and three children. He wanted to commit suicide.
What did you do?
I investigated to see if it was an exaggeration and he replied that he really intended to commit suicide. And that scarred me. You deal with people: it’s about people’s lives. And, unfortunately, in the case of Auchan, many workers are experiencing it badly. This fact discouraged me from continuing. It hurt me personally. Then, if we want to be honest, the Auchan story started with you, not me. Last year you wrote about Auchan’s letter asking suppliers for ‘a path of sustainability’. Which translated, in some cases, into a request for a 20 per cent discount on exposure.
I remember the whole affair well…
From there, Francesco Pugliese attacked me in front of everyone at a press conference in December, mentioning my name. I found myself in a story that you started and I continued. With a series of implications, even dramatic ones. And a story like that, I had never encountered.
It is an unusual story, no doubt about it.
Yes, for a number of reasons: the number of people involved, the money that is shot, everything it will produce in the coming years.
But what will Luigi Rubinelli do when he grows up?
I have made myself available to help a non-profit organisation and a cooperative of disabled people, here in Lucca. Two days a week will be dedicated to them. For the rest, I will do other things.
Space then for the Rubinelli-gardener?
Ah, definitely. We planted the olive trees just this week. There is no lack of work…
Just as it was not pleasant to receive a letter – intimidating, about my opinions (*) – from Francesco Pugliese’s criminal lawyer.
And the question I ask myself today, five years later, is: but where were the Conad associates in an affair that resembled stalking?
This is not a personal or political question (**) but an ethical one.
Moral principles should be the first parameter of a leading company, well before knowing whether one is ‘ahead’ of Selex (or Coop) in terms of market share.
(N.B.: there are companies, such as Esselunga, or Wegmans in the US that have always been leaders without being ‘the biggest’ in terms of turnover… ).
You can find all the comments of the staff laid off in the Auchan takeover in this article.For these people the slogan ‘people over things’, used and abused by the Conad consortium, seemed, after the damage of losing their jobs, like a mockery.
(*) My opinions are still all on this site, from which I have never removed anything, despite some ‘pressure’.
(**) I have some friends who work in Conad and I have not been interested in the political affairs of GD for decades.
