Portobello SpA – executive interview

Portobello SpA is a relatively young company with a unique business model. It is a value-based retailer of general merchandise including homewares, electricals, personal hygiene & homecare and clothing, aiming to build a national retail presence in Italy for its Portobello-branded retail outlets. It sources products using a combination of media barter (owned and third-party media) and cash purchases, which enable it to acquire products more cost effectively than its competitors, and therefore act as a price leader.

In this interview, Pietro Peligra, chairman of the board of directors, provides an overview of Portobello’s retail offer, the supporting business model and why the model is attractive to the company’s suppliers. He then discusses Portobello’s potential growth profile, how the product offering may evolve and how Portobello will replicate its model as it expands geographically. Our initiation note can be found here.