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Private company

Esselunga

Italian retail chain

Esselunga S.p.A. is an Italian retail store chain. Founded in 1957 by Nelson Rockefeller, Bernardo, Guido and Claudio Caprotti, Marco Brunelli, the Crespi family and other Italian associates, the company is now entirely owned by the Caprotti family through Supermarkets Italiani S.p.A. The store's name literally means "long S". Esselunga stores are located in the regions of Lombardy, Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto, Liguria, Emilia Romagna and Lazio, with a large majority (over 100) located in Lombardy, specifically in and around Milan.2 It was founded by Bernardo Caprotti.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1957Founded1
  • Industryretail1
  • HeadquartersMilan1
  • Founded inMilan1
  • Websitewww.esselunga.it
  • Legal formjoint-stock company1
  • LEI8156001A08A847FFCE473
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusIssued and current3
  • Registered addressVIA VITTOR PISANI, 20, 20124 Milano, Italy3
  • Registered withInfocamere, 012557201693

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Esselunga-cusanomilanino
Photo: Cristian1989, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Esselunga S.p.A. is an Italian retail store chain. Founded in 1957 by Nelson Rockefeller, Bernardo, Guido and Claudio Caprotti, Marco Brunelli, the Crespi family and other Italian associates, the company is now entirely owned by the Caprotti family through Supermarkets Italiani S.p.A. The store's name literally means "long S".2

Corporate structure

Esselunga is part of a group headed by SUPERIT S.R.L.. 3 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • SUPERIT S.R.L. Milano, Italy
    • Esselunga Milano, Italy
      • LA VILLATA S.P.A. IMMOBILIARE DI INVESTIMENTO E SVILUPPO Subsidiary · Milano, Italy

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Founded by Bernardo Caprotti in 1957, in Milan.1

As of 2023, the company had over 25,000 employees and an €8.8 billion turnover. Esselunga controls about 8.3% of the Italian grocery distribution market, according to figures from 2021. It is ranked as the fourth most profitable company in the Italian supermarket sector. Until 1999, Esselunga owned a share of the Italian branch of Penny Market (a REWE group company).

It was the first supermarket chain in Italy to introduce on-line shopping and self-produced organic products.

Esselunga was entirely owned by Bernardo Caprotti until his death in 2016. In his will, Caprotti left 66.7% of Esselunga to his second wife Giuliana Albera and their daughter Marina Sylvia, and 16.7% to each of his children from his first marriage, his son Giuseppe Caprotti and his daughter Violetta.

Many of the stores owned by the chain were designed by famous architects such as Ignazio Gardella, Vico Magistretti, Luigi Caccia Dominioni and Mario Botta.

From Wikipedia’s article on Esselunga, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Leadership

Who has led Esselunga, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company (GLEIF)

Ownership links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); each one cites its LEI record.

Timeline

  1. Oct 16, 2025Parent Directly consolidated by SUPERIT S.R.L.3
  2. 1957Founded Founded in Milan1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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