Feltrinelli aims for expansion in Spain and South America
CEO Alessandra Carra: 'Possible deals on the Iberian market and new bookshop openings'. For revenues +1.5% in 2025 and profit of 7.3 million
Compass turned towards Spain and South American markets for expansion without recourse to new investors or financial architectures. "We are profitable and generate cash. Let's do it ourselves'. CEO Alessandra Carra, together with president Carlo Feltrinelli and CFO Claudio D'Ambrosio, presents the accounts of the publishing group, which has reached a market share of 7.4%, fresh from the acquisition of Codice, "important," explains the CEO, "for its ability to organise festivals and events in the territory" and the opening of the first bookstore in South America: in Uruguay.
Which promises not to remain isolated. "We could open new bookshops on the continent,' points out the CEO, who also makes it clear that he wants to boost activity in Spain. Here the publishing group is already present with Anagrama and the La Central bookshops and is now preparing a strengthening that could also involve new operations.
'The Spanish book market is growing in double figures and is interesting,' says Carra. And it is not a phrase of circumstance. In fact, in May Feltrinelli Editores will make its debut with the first titles for the Spanish market, from 'El doctor Zhivago' by Boris Pasternak to 'Principio, medio fin' by Valeria Luiselli, and the first Feltrinelli Lecture by Richard Ford.
However, 2025 was a year in which Feltrinelli accelerated, even in the face of a slowing book market in Italia. The group closed 2025 with revenues of €538.5 million (up 1.5%), net profit of €7.3 million (more than doubled from €3.4 million in 2024) and a net financial position that turned positive by €7 million after the previous year's €5 million red.
The group headed by Carlo Feltrinelli, in a year in which, according to the Aie, the national market fell by 3% in volume and 2.1% in value, claims to have done better than the sector. The group's physical and digital channels account for almost 20% of book sales in Italia, with over 20 million copies sold. Bookshops therefore remain the heart of the model, while publishing fuels the engine with strong titles, from the Premio Strega won by Andrea Bajani to Isabelle Allende, Gianrico Carofiglio, Maurizio De Giovanni and Concita De Gregorio. "At a time of profound uncertainties, Feltrinelli feels the urgency of reaffirming its vocation as a dynamic and multifaceted publisher," says chairman Carlo Feltrinelli.
