One in four shops vacant after crisis, says study

(ANSA) - Rome, October 8 - Over 627,000 shops are vacant in Italy after the closure of companies that rented them, almost one in four, a study by the Confesercenti association for small-and-medium-sized businesses in the retail, tourism and services sectors revealed on Thursday. The report, based on findings from real-estate companies, said that the percentage of vacant shops approaches 40% in some suburban areas. "Consumer spending is slowly rising, but the retail crisis is not over," Confesercenti said.