Conad has confirmed its leadership position in the large-scale retail sector in Italy, recording total sales of €18.45 billion in 2022, up +8.5% on the previous year.
The supermarket chain's market share has remained above 15%, with a 4.4% growth in sales on a like-for-like network basis.
Highlights included 8.6% growth in specialty store concepts (pharmacies, opticians, pet store and fuel distribution), 4.7% growth of its Spazio Conad stores and the return to growth (+5.5%) of proximity channels after a 2021 decline.
Conad’s private label brands reported sales of €5.4 billion, up 12.6% in value compared to 2021.
Commenting on its performance, Francesco Pugliese highlighted that, over the past year, Conad absorbed a significant portion of price increases from suppliers, thus eroding its margins.
However, he added that the retailer has no more room to accept further increases, and is calling for action to ensure that prices can remain low for shoppers.
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Investment Strategy
Despite the challenging economic and social context, Conad confirmed its €2.08 billion investment plan for the period 2022 to 2024.
Of this amount, €701 million will be used in 2023 to support the four strategic pillars of the brand: channeling, digitalisation, focus on Conad-branded products, and sustainability.
According to Pugliese, Conad achieved expected levels of growth during 2022 as a result of a three-year investment plan for the renewal of the sales network and a move towards digitalisation.
Highlights included the launch of the Hey Conad e-commerce platform and additional online shopping services, as well as the growth and expansion of the private label offer.
Conad operates 3,928 outlets of various sizes and formats throughout Italy.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
