There were some tiny sections that were strangely not crowded at all. Like this case of pre-cut meat.
The pasta case was not as fully loaded as I would have expected but I guess that’s because the army of people behind the counter keeps restocking it all day.
This picture kind of embodies how it felt to be there: like I was standing among a crowd!
There is no picture of this but the cash registers were empty! There was no line. I guess everyone is there to eat at Eataly!
Last thing: we popped over to the wine shop next door. Pretty but small. Great liquor/digestif section.
All in all it was fun but as a retailer spy it was not that fruitful as a trip. Eataly directly imports about 80% of what they sell so there is no way for little old me to get the exact brands that they have. That’s why they have all those restaurants, to move volume to make the cost of importing worth their while. They have really made it difficult for anyone else compete with them! I will also add that those brands that they are direct importing are brands that the Italian Eataly stores have long-standing relationships with. Yeah, competing against Eataly is like competing with Walmart.
