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

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

Quick Take — Peter Brabeck-Lemathe leaves Nestlé: what does it mean?

I copy an article of mine from the 1990s:

“Peter Brabeck-Letmathe was CEO (managing director) of Nestlé at the time, today he is its Chairman (chairman of the board).

There were ‘sparks’ with Brabeck during one of his visits to Milan. We were in the fruit and vegetable department of the Superstore in Corsico…

Then, as none of us had any interest in quarrelling, everything returned to order.

And Nestlé, very realistically, will end up eliminating GMOs from its products in Italy’.

The fact that as honorary chairman, Brabeck- Lemathe was no longer listened to and questioned makes one realise how much Nestlé has lost its bearings. And in fact, for years, it has been going through a deep crisis, which seems to have no end ( it had its biggest problem with water and frozen pizzas. On water it got away with it).

Drafted 27 December, updated 31 December 2025

The Caprotti family: from textiles – with Manifattura – to Esselunga

The Caprotti story begins with Antonio del fu Giovanni Battista (1685). The family’s origins lie in agriculture and textiles, until 2009 when, partly due to a sharp drop in orders, the company’s top management decided to close the Manifattura after more than 179 years of activity. In the meantime, the Caprotti family took part in the founding of Esselunga in 1957