H.I.G. Capital has completed the sale of Pinalli S.r.l., Italy’s largest omnichannel beauty and personal care retail chain, to Borletti Group, a Milan-based private investment firm focused on retail, luxury and branded consumer goods. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
H.I.G. first acquired a majority stake in Pinalli in February 2023, partnering with the founding Pinalli family and existing management. Over the roughly three and a half years that followed, the company expanded from 63 stores to 108, launched a private-label product line, revamped its loyalty program to more than one million members, and extended its e-commerce operations while onboarding international and digital-native beauty brands.
Pinalli posted revenues of €197 million in 2025, making it one of the more closely watched mid-market exits in Italy’s consumer sector this year.
A retailer rebuilt from the store up
Founded in 1984 in Fiorenzuola d’Arda, in the Piacenza province of northern Italy, Pinalli built its reputation as a specialty retailer carrying prestige and professional beauty brands. H.I.G.’s ownership period brought a comprehensive rebranding effort, a new store format and a refreshed staff-styling concept aimed at positioning the chain against both international department stores and direct-to-consumer digital competitors.
Raffaele Legnani, managing director and head of H.I.G.’s Italy office, and Giovanni Guglielmi, a managing director at H.I.G., said in a joint statement that the firm had focused on building the brand’s omnichannel infrastructure while developing Pinalli’s own-brand offering and widening its store network. We are proud to have partnered with the Pinalli team to drive exceptional growth,” they said, “developing the omnichannel platform, expanding the store network, launching a private label offering and repositioning the brand.”
Pinalli Chief Executive Raffaele Rossetti credited the ownership group with accelerating internal timelines. “Working with H.I.G. Capital has been a great experience,” Rossetti said. “Together we were successful in achieving our objectives ahead of the timeline set out in the initial business plan.”
Maurizio Borletti, founding partner of Borletti Group, said his firm was drawn to Pinalli’s consistency and its record of profitable growth. “Pinalli is a company that has demonstrated consistency, strong growth capabilities, and a clear commitment to innovation,” Borletti said. “We are excited to support the next phase of the company’s growth journey.”
H.I.G. adds to its Italian exit record under new leadership
H.I.G. Capital manages approximately $75 billion in assets across equity, credit and real assets strategies. Sami Mnaymneh and Tony Tamer, who co-founded the firm in 1993, serve as executive chairmen. Brian Schwartz, a 32-year private equity veteran who previously led H.I.G.’s North American buyout business, became chief executive officer in April 2026.
H.I.G. has been an active investor in Italy, where it established a dedicated office under Legnani. Pinalli joins a list of Italian transactions the firm has completed in recent years, including its 2025 acquisition of A.L.A. S.p.A. and the launch of a self-storage platform under the Boxengo brand.
Borletti Group has a track record in Italian retail that includes past stakes in La Rinascente and Printemps. Adding Pinalli gives the group direct exposure to a segment of the beauty market that has outpaced the broader retail sector across Europe for much of the past decade.
Advisers to the transaction were not disclosed.
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