PW: Feltrinelli Broadens Reach in Italy

Until recently, there was no better example of a family group making good money from traditional literary publishing and bookselling than Milan's Feltrinelli, but suddenly everything is changing. Already one of the country's fastest-growing trade imprints, with a bookshop chain covering the peninsula from thigh to t and outperforming all competitors, the group only recently launched an online book retailer, Zivago, co-owned with the Espresso press group.

Now Feltrinelli is about to go to the market with 30% of its capital. The extra cash will allow it to develop a second online business to deliver information on the worlds of books and music via universal linkages, and then (as technology allows, hopefully before the end of this year) to sell both reading and listening for online delivery.

Feltrinelli, which also runs a chain of music/musical instrument outlets called Ricordi Mediastores, plans to employ some of the new capital for the extension of its flagship bookshop chain, with the opening of 30-40 outlets within five years time.

Founded in 1954, Feltrinelli specializes in books in art, history, philosophy, p try as well as fiction.