Earlier this year, the European Commission issued a relatively positive outlook for Italy's economy, with economic growth set to come in at 0.9% for the current year, rising to 1.1% in 2025, while a fall in energy prices is expected to lead to inflation 'bottoming out' this year at 1.6%.
In June 2024, Italy's consumer price index remained stable with a slight monthly increase of 0.1% and an annual rise of 0.8%, mirroring May's figures.
According to the Italian statistics body Istat, prices of groceries and unprocessed food decreased by 0.2% on a monthly basis but increased by 1.2% annually, down from the previous month's 1.8%. However, processed food, including alcohol and tobacco, saw a slight annual increase from 1.8% to 2.0%.
The most recent retail trade data, for May 2024, indicated a modest growth, with a 0.4% increase in value and a 0.2% rise in volume compared to the previous month. Year-on-year, large-scale distribution grew by 0.9%, small-scale distribution by 0.2%, while non-store retail sales fell by 1.6%. Online sales also declined, contracting by 1.4% compared to May 2023.
Italy boasts one of the lowest inflation rates among euro area countries, which has positively influenced consumer confidence. The consumer confidence index saw a significant increase in June 2024, particularly in the economic confidence climate, which rose from 101.9 to 105.3.
Despite this, business confidence declined, notably in the manufacturing sector, due to reduced assessments of order books and production expectations, as reported by Istat.
At the same time, Italian food products continue to be celebrated globally, and recent data from Coldiretti, representing the Italian agricultural sector, showed that exports of 'Made In Italy' food products surged by 19% in April 2024, twice the rate of other sectors.
The United States, the largest non-EU market for Italian food, saw a 29% increase in purchases. Significant growth was also observed in Great Britain (17%), Germany (15%), and France (9%). Other notable markets include China, with a 17% increase, and Russia, which experienced a 40% surge in Italian food imports.
During the first four months of 2024, total agri-food exports reached €22.6 billion, suggesting that the record value of €64 billion set in 2023 could be surpassed, according to Coldiretti.
However, Italy's agricultural sector has faced significant challenges, with production shrinking last year due to extreme weather events linked to climate change. Italian farms recorded a 3.9% annual drop in production volume in 2023, with vine, fruit, and olive production down by 11.1%. Fruit production, in particular, was severely impacted by hailstorms and spring frosts.
Here's an overview of the top ten supermarket retail chains in Italy, according to their most recently-available full-year turnover. All data is supplied by Retail-Index.
***EXCLUSIVE OFFER*** Gain access to Retail-Index.com with a limited discount of 15% – use the code ESM15 in the remarks section on the Price & Order form.
1. Conad
Turnover: €18.45 billion (2022)
Conad has confirmed its leadership position in the large-scale retail sector in Italy, recording total sales of €18.45 billion in 2022.
Conad’s network consists of an estimated 3,400 outlets in different formats, including supermarkets, hypermarkets and discount stores.
Long-standing Conad CEO Francesco Pugliese stepped down last year. The retailer's 2019 acquisition of Auchan Retail’s Italian assets helped it to become the market leader in the country.
Check out ESM's recent interview with Conad director general Francesco Avanzini here.
2. Gruppo Selex
Turnover: €18.2 billion (2022)
Gruppo Selex reported turnover of more than €18 billion in its 2022 financial year.
The group is the second largest player in the modern distribution sector in Italy. Consisting of 18 member companies, Selex’s network comprises 2,417 stores across various formats as of 2022.
Its most popular banners are Famila, A&O and C+C, which are flanked by regional brands that are often leaders in their respective territories. Selex Gruppo Commerciale is part of the central buying group ESD Italia, which in turn is a partner of European retail alliance EMD.
Gruppo Selex has said that it is targeting a turnover of €20.4 billion in its 2024 financial year, following what it described as a 'positive and dynamic' 2023.
3. Coop
Turnover: €16.1 billion (2022)
Cooperative retailer Coop is a network of consumer cooperatives which operates one of the largest supermarket chains in Italy.
The Coop system is made up of seven large cooperatives, five medium size and about 68 small firms, divided into three districts.
4. Gruppo Végé
Turnover: €12.7 billion (2022)
Italian retail cooperative Gruppo VéGé has reported nine consecutive years of turnover growth, ending 2022 with €12.7 billion in sales.
It closed the year with 3,836 stores, with its outlets operating under different formats and banners, including Tosano, Bennet, Multicedi, Arena, Gruppo Isa, Vega, Moderna and Piccolo.
Gruppo VéGé’s members anticipate €14.5 billion in turnover this year, one in which the group celebrates its 65th anniversary. In addition, the group is doubling down on its private label and digitalisation efforts, and is aiming for a turnover of €20 billion by 2030.
5. Esselunga
Turnover: €8.4 billion (2022)
Esselunga was the first supermarket chain to be introduced in Italy, and to this day is still flagged as a model operator by many.
The company achieved consolidated sales of €8.4 billion in 2022.
Esselunga's sales network comprises 180 stores, predominantly located in Northern and Central Italy, all of which are directly-owned. The superstore format dominates, although in recent years Esselunga has been rolling out new formats such as Elisenda and laEsse.
In March, Esselunga opened EsselungaLab, a testing ground for new retail concepts, processes and tools, in the Mind Milano Innovation District. EsselungaLab will serves as a hub for exploring cutting-edge services, technologies, communication methods, materials, and furniture solutions, the retailer said.
6. Crai
Turnover: €6.1 billion (2022, estimated)
Crai reported an estimated turnover of €6.1 billion in 2022, according to Retail-Index.
The company operates under banners including Cash & Carry Alimentari, Crai Superette, and Crai Supermercati, and boasts around 3,700 stores.
In February, Crai announced it plans to increase the turnover generated by its private-label ranges from almost €350 million to around €1 billion by 2028. The retailer also plans to introduce the CraiSport brand later this year, featuring 20 product references.
7. EuroSpin
Turnover: €7 billion (2022, estimated)
Italy’s largest discounter, Eurospin, closed 2022 with an estimated turnover of €7 billion. The company has a 6.5% national market share, but is the leader in the hard discount segment in Italy, where it holds close to a third (31.79%) of the market.
Its network consists of over 1,150 outlets in Italy, many operated under franchise agreements.
Eurospin is the largest discount group in Italy and was established in 1993.
8. Lidl
Turnover: €6.5 billion (2022, estimated)
The Italian unit of German discounter Lidl achieved estimated revenues of €6.5 billion in its 2022 financial year.
Some 20 years after opening its first store in Italy, its network now consists of 700 outlets, with a nationwide presence.
In June, Lidl Italia opened what it describes as Italy’s most eco-friendly supermarket outlet. The new supermarket in Villafranca di Verona was designed and built with sustainability in mind and is completely self-sufficient in terms of energy.
9. Carrefour
Turnover: €4.4 billion (2022)
Carrefour Italia reported sales of €4.4 billion in 2022.
Carrefour is the leading franchise operator in the large-scale distribution sector in Italy, with more than 1,500 stores, of which 1,000 are run by franchisees, mostly under the Market and Express banners.
In January of this year, Carrefour said its goal is to make its private label offering increasingly important within its commercial activity. Underpinning this commitment are the more than 200 new SKUs that will be launched over course of the next year.
10. Despar
Turnover: €4.14 billion (2022)
Despar Italia, the Italian concessionaire of the SPAR brand, ended 2021 with a turnover of €4.14 billion.
The retailer operates three store formats – Despar (neighbourhood, small-sized supermarkets), Eurospar (medium-sized supermarkets, ideal for weekly shopping) and Interspar (large-sized supermarkets, similar to hypermarkets). Its network consists of 1,374 outlets, of which 433 are directly-owned and 941 affiliated.
Despar Italia plans to invest €100 million during 2024 for further network expansion, including the development of 35 new stores and 33 renovations, among others.
About Retail-Index
Retail-Index is a specialist supplier of management information on consumer retail markets, provided by Veraart Research Group in the Netherlands. Its mission is to supply managers with up-to-date key information on retail markets in Europe and support them in their international expansion.
The company dates back to 1964, when it started as a market research and marketing consulting company for consumer products and services. In 1989, it started publishing written reports on various retail sectors in Europe. As of 2005, it publishes its information on retailers through the online database and curated datasheet exports available on www.retail-index.com. A team of researchers manages the data to reflect upon current developments in the markets, collected from an extensive number of sources.
Read More: Top 10 Supermarket Retail Chains In Austria
Read More: Top 10 Supermarket Retail Chains In Belgium
Read More: Top 10 Supermarket Retail Chains In Bulgaria
Read More: Top 10 Supermarket Retail Chains In Czechia
