At the roots of the future

The foundation

In 1937 in Brisighella (Ravenna) Vittorio Silvestrini opened the doors of his first shop for the retail sale of gas ovens, wood stoves, radios and sewing machines. The first retail and wholesale point of sale was born in 1958. This is where our story begins.

Growth

In 1980, a generational transition was completed with the establishment of SGM Distribuzione (the current Unieuro S.p.A.) led by Giuseppe and Maria Grazia Silvestrini. With big ideas and plans to match, in 1982 we opened our first megastore in Forlì, the historic Marco Polo in Viale Roma.

Evolution

In 2000 we entered Gruppo Expert S.p.A. leaving behind the borders of Emilia-Romagna, consolidating our presence through Northern and Central Italy. In 2001 we took another big step: we adopted the Marco Polo-Expert banner and launched marcopoloshop.it, a truly pioneer e-commerce site in Italy where customers had the possibility to order online and collect in stores. A multi-channel retail approach was born.

Further growth

In 2005, the international fund Rhône Capital acquired 100% of SGM Distribuzione. The expansion of our commercial network continued, culminating in a series of strategic acquisitions of important market players: a driving force, that in just a few years would quadruple our points of sale.

The new Unieuro

In 2013 complete control of Unieuro was acquired, a chain of some 94 stores throughout Italy. 

In 2014 we parted ways with the Expert Group and re-established the Unieuro brand, creating a single brand with 173 direct points of sale, over 230 affiliates and 2 e-commerce sites. 

In 2015 we acquired eight stores located within the main Italian airports, entering into a new retail sector for us: travel retail. The new Unieuro becomes a joint-stock company, and we launch the new e-commerce platform with a complete rebranding and relaunch of the unieuro.it website and a new mobile app. 

In 2016 we give life to #cuoriconnessi: A tour working with the State Police department and with the goal of working with schools to raise awareness on the dangers of cyberbullying and on the correct and conscious use of technology, involving millions of children throughout Italy. 

A star shines

On 4th April 2017 Unieuro entered into the Stock Exchange. The only consumer electronics retailer in Italy listed in the STAR segment. In the same year we acquired another 40 points of sale. In 2018 our new central distribution platform was inaugurated in Piacenza, in 2019 we entered the large-scale retail trade sector with 21 shop-in-shops as well as entering the Sicilian retail market by acquiring 12 points of sale in Sicily. Rhône Capital exits the capital and we become a public company: the first Italian network, in terms of both extension and turnover.

From Forlì to the future

In 2021, we move our headquarters to the prestigious Palazzo Hercolani in Forlì: a longstanding commitment toward a city that has accompanied us throughout our journey. In 2023 the story continues with the acquisition of the share capital of Covercare S.p.A. A move conforming to our “Beyond Omni-Journey” strategy.