Milan's 156-year-old Hoepli voted itself into liquidation amid a shareholder war

On 10 March 2026, the shareholders' meeting of Hoepli — the historic Milanese publishing house founded 156 years earlier — voted for the 'voluntary dissolution of the company and its liquidation'. The company's note attributed the decision to "a painful and in-depth reflection on the overall situation of the company", citing negative operating results correlated with the forecast trend of the publishing and book market and a 'serious endosocietal conflict' — the accounts and the internal war, adding up.

The rift went public immediately. Giovanni Nava, a shareholder with 30 per cent, attacked the majority for voting to liquidate and sell the company "even if it is broken up into branches or even broken up altogether", said he had opposed 'this drift' and accused the majority of never considering handing a relaunch to new management. He promised "to continue the battle in all venues and with every means made available by law" to safeguard the publishing house and the bookstore he called "a piece of Italy's history".

The fallout was instant: Hoepli's 90 workers staged a one-hour strike the same afternoon and announced a flash mob for 14 March, and Milan's mayor Giuseppe Sala urged that responsibility to employees and readers prevail "over the disagreements within the family". Lawyer Laura Limido was appointed to lead the liquidation with the declared objective of preserving the value of the company's assets for creditors, employees and all involved.

The company named two causes — a shrinking book market and a shareholder conflict — and the conflict was the one that made liquidation the only route on the table.

The majority chose dissolution and a branch-by-branch sale over testing a relaunch under new management, the option its own 30% shareholder said was never considered.

A 156-year-old brand built on continuity proved fragile exactly where Italian family businesses are weakest: ownership, strategy and power.

The decision treated the company as assets to preserve rather than an operating business to save, accepting dispersal of a cultural institution.

Family ownership without a dispute mechanism is a slow-motion liquidation: the market rarely kills a heritage firm before the shareholders do.

Liquidation lawyer Laura Limido took over with a mandate of 'impartial and efficient' management. Workers struck within hours and planned a flash mob; the mayor publicly pressed for a solution; and Nava vowed legal battle in every venue, leaving the fate of the bookstore, the brand and 90 jobs to the liquidation process.