[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The customer is the foundation, the pillar of the company \u2014 the one who buys the product and, if satisfied, returns with pleasure. From the very beginning, both the Americans and my father set a clear direction: a strong focus on the quality and affordability of Esselunga\u2019s products.<\/p>\n
However, my father\u2019s method \u2014 and that of his close team \u2014 could be summed up as: \u201cI decide what you buy.\u201d That\u2019s not how I see it.<\/p>\n
When I joined Esselunga, I began to progressively change the marketing approach, through years of careful and patient work. I shifted it \u201cfrom I to we\u201d: from decisions made and imposed by a single leader to a process of sharing ideas and projects with collaborators, with the goal of selecting products and services that genuinely appeal to our customers.<\/p>\n
To me, the customer is not just a user, but a key player \u2014 the company\u2019s most valuable asset. Between 2002 and 2003, both the internal booklet\u00a0\u201cValori nei fatti\u201d<\/i>\u00a0and the first\u00a0Social Report<\/i>\u00a0made it clear: our corporate policy puts customers at the center.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just about market analysis, or suggestion boxes in stores (which were all read and taken seriously \u2014 remember, the internet didn\u2019t exist yet), nor is it only about \u201cwowing\u201d customers by meeting or even exceeding their expectations. It\u2019s about building an ongoing, active relationship based on trust \u2014 and trust stems from information.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t want customers to buy what we decide for them. I want them to tell me \u2014 directly or with the vital help of our staff \u2014 what they really want.<\/p>\n
With this \u201cFrom I to We\u201d approach, for the first time, information started flowing from the bottom up. All store managers were encouraged to report customer requests via email or through their area inspectors. In many other cases, whether during inspections or in-store meetings, we asked store leaders directly. We also held weekly planogram meetings where sales staff \u2014 inspectors and store managers \u2014 came prepared with proposals based on product category revisions. These ideas were discussed with marketing and purchasing teams. (See pages 163\u2013165 of\u00a0\u201cLe ossa dei Caprotti \u2013 Una storia italiana,\u201d<\/i>\u00a0Feltrinelli, 2023.)<\/p>\n
As the first supermarket chain in Italy, Esselunga turned this customer relationship into a reality by adopting a loyalty card, already popular abroad. I was familiar with the system from seeing it used by competitors like Dominick\u2019s and American airlines. Esselunga\u2019s card was called\u00a0F\u00ecdaty<\/i>, because it was built on trust.<\/p>\n
Those who held the card gained access to exclusive discounts and offers, received the\u00a0Speciale News<\/i>\u00a0magazine (nicknamed\u00a0Fragola News<\/i>, which reached up to a million subscribers), and were offered articles and recipes on topics ranging from health and wellness to childcare, savings, organic food, and fair trade \u2014 all tailored to customer interest and curiosity.<\/p>\n
F\u00ecdaty launched in 1995, following a test the previous year. Within ten years, 91% of total sales were processed through the loyalty card. By the early 2000s, over 90% of catalogue points were redeemed. In 2003, with a points promotion that doubled the strawberry points, redemption reached 115% (out of a theoretical 200%).<\/p>\n
Then there were the discount coupons \u2014 inspired by American models \u2014 which at times reached a redemption rate of 7\u20138%. Grocery discount vouchers had redemption rates of over 30%, although they remained mostly \u201cinvisible\u201d due to their high cost. (In marketing,\u00a0redemption<\/i>\u00a0refers to the percentage of responses relative to the total number of distributed offers \u2014 and in both cases, the performance was excellent.)<\/p>\n
Notably, in 2003 the products listed in the F\u00ecdaty catalogue represented \u20ac80.9 million in cost value (source: Esselunga Marketing Plan 2004). F\u00ecdaty helped move products off the shelves, but also sold many others that weren\u2019t in the standard assortment, thanks to the catalogue itself.<\/p>\n
Through advertising within the magazine and special promotions, the loyalty program also contributed to a significant increase in promotional contributions \u2014 helping boost Esselunga\u2019s operating profit by 2.5 times between the late 1990s and the early 2000s.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, discount coupons, grocery vouchers, an appealing product catalogue, engaging magazines, and strong partnerships all contributed to making F\u00ecdaty a truly unique program.<\/p>\n
And at that time, so too was home delivery and e-commerce \u2014 still rare in the Italian retail world.<\/p>\n
Alongside these services were many others: holiday food reservations, photo development, the ability to buy single units of fresh produce, in-store caf\u00e9s, children\u2019s play areas, perfumeries, newspapers, phone cards, and pre-sliced meats and cheeses.<\/p>\n
Listing everything is nearly impossible. But one thing is certain: the quality of our products and services led many customers to build what can only be described as a true \u201clove story\u201d with Esselunga.[\/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid element_width=”6″ gap=”15″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1756367464631-d0b4eb5a-38d6-2″ include=”68168,68196,68166,68195,68167,68254,68256,68257″][vc_column_text]Bibliography<\/b><\/p>\n
Caprotti, G.\u00a0(2024).\u00a0Le ossa dei Caprotti. Una storia italiana<\/i>. Milano: Feltrinelli. How, through the involvement of employees and customers, we moved from the American \u2014 and my father\u2019s \u2014 focus on quality and value to a model of \u201ctotal quality\u201d and a true relationship of loyalty and affection with Esselunga\u2019s customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":68164,"template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-68163","protagonista","type-protagonista","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/protagonista\/68163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/protagonista"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/protagonista"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/protagonista\/68163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68258,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/protagonista\/68163\/revisions\/68258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCaprotti, G.\u00a0Dall\u2019io al noi: le risorse umane<\/i><\/a>
\nCaprotti, G.\u00a0(22\/02\/2022).\u00a0Storia: Valori e principi delle Risorse Umane di Esselunga<\/i><\/a>
\nCaprotti, G.\u00a0(16\/03\/2025).\u00a0Storia: I valori nei fatti. La responsabilit\u00e0 sociale di Esselunga<\/a><\/i>
\nCaprotti, G.\u00a0Il localismo toscano di Esselunga<\/i><\/a>
\nCaprotti, G.\u00a0Le origini della Fidaty<\/i><\/a>
\n<\/a>Caprotti, G.\u00a0Il risultato operativo di Esselunga<\/i><\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"