The Italian food emporium Eataly recorded a net loss in 2016, but that hasn’t stopped the company from planning an initial public offering on the Milan stock exchange as early as next year.
Andrea Guerra, the executive chairman of Eataly, said the chain was on target to increase revenues by 25% in 2017, thanks in part to the opening of three additional locations in the U.S. Based on these figures, Guerra said the “obvious road” would lead to an IPO, after bringing in new capital for the next 12 to 18 months
In November, Eataly opened FICO Eataly World, the “Disneyland of pasta” in Bologna, Italy. The site comprises 25 acres of food stands and farmland meant to unify Italy’s diverse food culture under one roof. In the same month they opened a location in Los Angeles spanning three floors and nearly 70,000 square feet to much fanfare.
In the next 24 months, Eataly plans to open seven additional locations in six countries across Europe and North America, and they don’t plan to stop there. Guerra said he thought the chain could continue to open new locations “for the next 10 years” and “have a store in every world capital.”