Thinking in Eatalian

Anyone familiar with New York City or Chicago probably knows Eataly, the foodie haven where the faithful come to worship at the shrine of St. Gourmet of Italy – safe in the knowledge that what they’re buying may not be cheap, but it’s genuine, and quality is guaranteed.

The point, perhaps, is that Eataly’s customers come back time after time, and its Fifth Avenue store is always busy. But hold on a moment. There is more to Eataly than its U.S. locations (a second Big Apple outpost is set to open in the World Trade Center this fall, with additional locations announced for Boston and Los Angeles). This is an outfit that debuted in Turin, Italy, and now has stores across northern and central Italy. And all of them, like the U.S. stores, are bursting with people who are happy to spend time in them. 

Yet these are, for the most part, gourmet supermarket/restaurant combinations, albeit aimed at a more leisurely experience than the average Carrefour, Walmart or Loblaws. Eataly shoppers will emerge from their visit fed, watered (or, more likely, wined) and clutching a bag full of imported Italian food.

Eataly is, in short, something of a phenomenon, and it opened its first European branch north of the Alps at the end of 2015. Paris is currently slated to receive an Eataly in 2018, and it’s a fair bet that London will be somewhere on the list for the company’s founding father and presiding genius Oscar Farinetti.

Given the fact that there are already Eatalys in Tokyo; Istanbul; São Paulo, Brazil; and Seoul, South Korea; it seems reasonable to assume that the format is truly universal and has the capacity to win over hearts and wallets wherever it appears. Meanwhile, owners of supermarkets with large estates must be looking at Eataly’s success and wondering how it might be emulated.

It’s simple, really: Don’t go for the standard, and make your store a place where shoppers will want to linger. We’d all benefit – retailers, store designers and, most importantly, shoppers.     

John Ryan is a journalist covering the retail sector, a role he has fulfilled for more than a decade. As well as being the European Editor of VMSD magazine, he writes for a broad range of publications in the U.K., the U.S. and Germany with a focus on in-store marketing, display and layout, as well as the business of store architecture and design. In a previous life, he was a buyer for C&A, based in London and then Düsseldorf, Germany. He lives and works in London.