Giuseppe Caprotti: ‘From trolleys to history, the luck of living more lives’

What will we read about in your new book? ‘I tell another side of the family through two extraordinary explorers: my eponymous ancestor Giuseppe Caprotti, who lived thirty years in Yemen, and my great uncle Gianni Albertini, a skier and mountaineer who explored the North Pole’.

Factory Positioning: ‘MDD – IDM Strategies and Market

My speech will also start from some of my experiences at Esselunga, where for many years I worked on the development of projects that accompanied an important phase in the evolution of Italian distribution: the Superstores, the Fìdaty card, Esselunga at Home, the ESD purchasing centre, the development of organic products, together with the introduction of the company’s first social report. The aim, of course, is not to look back. Those experiences serve above all as a starting point to reflect on how distribution, the role of retailer brands and the relationship between industry and retail are changing today.

Ecommerce food Conference 2026

Giuseppe Caprotti, author of the book Le Ossa dei Caprotti, is an expert in the distribution of food and non-food products. He contributed to the modernisation and strategic and organisational development of Esselunga. in large-scale distribution, introducing innovative management tools and food innovation. He is president of the Guido Venosta Foundation, which promotes scientific research, health protection, culture, solidarity and the environment

Le Ossa dei Caprotti’ presentation – Soroptimist, 29 October 2025

I really stopped. During that long difficult period we talked about earlier, I stopped completely. It was a time of silence, of isolation. But then, with the end of the court case and Covid, I chose to look forward. I decided to see the Covid crisis as an opportunity to help. From there my personal rebirth and my work in the Guido Venosta Foundation was born

Esselunga- Rewe: the Penny Market joint venture

“… We decide to enter into an agreement with the te-desco giant Rewe to create a chain of discount stores to be called Penny Market, controlled with 50 per cent equal shares. A decision by the board of directors is required to start the venture. I vote in favour of our father’s proposal, while his historic lawyer Alfonso Pellegatta is against it…’ Le Ossa dei Caprotti, page 169

Esselunga’s operating result

One of the many stories that have circulated about me is that I would have brought Esselunga poor financial results for 2003 and that this would have led to my removal. Nothing could be more untrue. If you look at the numbers, you can see that the 2003 Ros, compared to that of the early 1990s, was decidedly better, thanks in part to careful management of contracts with suppliers (see the example of Barilla) and to the negotiations carried out in the ESD Centre