I
t’s 50 years since Giancarlo Panizza opened the first Il Gigante store, in Sesto San Giovanni on the outskirts of Milan. Te Italian supermarket
chain has since expanded across the north of the country and employs more than 5,000 people across its 61 stores, 12 franchise shops and chain of cafe bars, A Modo Mio. Panizza, who remains
president today, has been credited with helping to create the modern hypermarket as we know it by selling food and non-food products alongside each other in that very first store. Today’s Il Gigante supermarkets sell tens of thousands of products, including a range of own-brand essentials such as honey, potato chips and, of course, pizza. Around 90% of these are made in Italy, helping to support local producers. “Quality is our mission and
daily priority,” says Andrea Brunu, Il Gigante’s technical and purchasing director. “I believe that it is the quality of our products that sets us apart from our competitors. We want to offer niche and genuine products made from authentic flavors, like in the past.” As well as the cafe bars, Il
Gigante stores include bakeries, patisseries and ‘gastronomy corners’ selling everyday products freshly made from scratch. For a company that prides itself on the quality and freshness of its food, the challenge was getting these products out in those branches that lacked the space for an on- site kitchen. “Te goal was to give smaller
stores the possibility of selling fresh products made by us, even if they didn’t have a production corner,” explains Brunu. “When we focused on this objective, we realized that we needed to have a central kitchen for the preparation and cooking of meats and baked goods to be delivered to our stores.”
A real turnkey project Having chosen the Villasanta shopping center near Monza for the location of the central kitchen, Il Gigante needed to find a partner who could deliver this solution. Te choice was straightforward. “We have been collaborating with Grandimpianti for over 20 years,” says Brunu. “We have always had an excellent relationship with all the people in the company who have worked with us.” Specializing in turnkey
solutions for the Italian market, Grandimpianti designs, specifies and delivers foodservice
WE REALIZED
THAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE A CENTRAL KITCHEN FOR THE PREPARATION AND COOKING OF MEATS AND BAKED GOODS TO BE DELIVERED TO OUR STORES Andrea Brunu
projects in the commercial and institutional sectors. Il Gigante first enlisted its help when needing to purchase equipment for producing ready-to-eat meals and pastries. “Grandimpianti can offer
a wide choice of brands and equipment from within the Ali Group, offering a real turnkey project,” says Brunu. “Tis is absolutely a plus for us.” For its part, Grandimpianti
appreciates Il Gigante’s forward-thinking approach to specifications. “Te supermarket chain is always looking for innovations that can improve production and energy performance in its stores,” says Andrea Furfaro, sales manager and after-sales director at Grandimpianti. It wasn’t just a question of
providing all the necessary equipment to produce quality meals; it needed to be a technological solution that would enable the chain ▸
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