Renzo Rosso's Red Circle takes control of Cortilia with €10m capital increase

Red Circle Investments, the personal holding vehicle of Diesel founder Renzo Rosso, has lifted its stake in the Milan online grocer Cortilia from 26.3 per cent to more than 60 per cent through a €10 million capital increase. That majority position departs from the minority stakes the vehicle has typically taken, and BeBeez reported the transaction on 10 September, with Indaco Venture, Primo Capital sgr and Five Seasons Ventures remaining on the share register alongside management, according to that report.

Cortilia has sold fresh, locally sourced Italian produce on a scheduled delivery model since 2011 and lists more than 4,500 products from around 400 producers, while revenue reached €45.4 million in 2025 against negative EBITDA of €4.9 million, a deficit worth roughly 11 per cent of sales. The plan now in place targets break-even in 2027, with €4 million earmarked for new product categories and technology.

Red Circle is run separately from OTB, the fashion group Rosso built after founding Diesel in Molvena in the Veneto in 1978, and keeps no public website, so its full portfolio is not disclosed, but sport and food sit among the areas it has backed, per BeBeez. OTB owns Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni and Viktor&Rolf, took Viktor&Rolf to full ownership in June 2026, controls Staff International and Brave Kid, and holds a stake in the American brand Amiri; Rosso set up the OTB Foundation in 2006 as the group's philanthropic arm. BeBeez reads the shift to control as an intention to steer the business rather than hold a financial stake.

For the venture funds still on the register, the capital increase dilutes their positions while leaving them exposed to a plan that runs through 2027, and BeBeez's report does not say whether they participated in the raise or what terms they now hold.

Online grocery has proved harder in Italy than in northern Europe, where dense cities and a strong tradition of fresh food markets leave less room for a delivery premium; most independent players in the category have either sold to supermarket groups or closed, per the same report. The argument attached to this deal is that a majority shareholder willing to fund the company to break-even changes the calculation, and that Rosso brings brand-building experience the category has generally lacked. The check is modest against the task: ten million euros is roughly twice the 2025 EBITDA deficit, and it takes Red Circle past 60 per cent of a company that has not yet turned a profit.