Italians buy local, 6 mn migrant shops

(ANSA) - Rome, August 31 - 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.