Shopping in locally owned
neighborhood stores is on the rise in Italy, up 0.4% in the last
three months, according to a data analysis released Monday by
Italian farmer's confederation CIA based on ISTAT figures.
Farmers' association Coldiretti said small food shops have
seen an increase of 2.4% in sales so far in 2015, after having
experienced a consistent downturn since 2008.
Discount food shops saw even higher growth, with a 4.5%
increase registered in June 2015 over last year's figures for
the same period, Coldiretti said.
The increase is in part due to prolonged store hours in
small neighborhood shops owned and managed by immigrants, who
run more than 6 million product or service shops in Italy, led
by fruit and vegetable shops, Coldiretti said.
The association said the trend is a positive factor because
"it counteracts the reduction of local services, the weakening
of the relational system and the social framework, and often
also the social security of urban centres".
Non-Italians manage 125,965 retail businesses and the
sector has grown by 13.4% despite the overall economic crisis,
Coldiretti said, based on 2014 figures from research bureau
Censis.
Coldiretti Economic Director Lorenzo Bazzana called the
trend "generally good," as it allows the consumer to spend less
on petrol, buy in smaller quantities, and save time.
However, he cautioned the need for proper labeling, to
ensure hygiene in stores that are sometimes also used as living
spaces, and to check for possible illegal activity such as money
laundering that could be associated with the rapid opening and
subsequent shuttering of stores.
"All operators, small and large, have to respect the
regulations," Bazzana said.
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