Quick Take — USA: department store market share from over 14% in 1990 to less than 3% in 2024 (-78%)

a collapse that clearly photographs the structural change taking place. But the decline of department stores is not a thunderbolt. For years, these department stores have struggled to compete with the rise of e-commerce, aggressive discount platforms such as Temu and Shein, but also direct-to-consumer brands. The new generations, moreover, prefer more curated, personalised and digital shopping experiences, far removed from the dispersed logic of the large generalist stores, and so the metamorphosis underway is not just a commercial fact, but a social and cultural signal, showing that the future of retail passes through innovation, selection and competitive pricing, and does not care about the size of its spaces…

Quick Take — US: inflation-fatigued consumers stock up on discount stores (the ‘box stores’ where you enter with a subscription and membership card)

The Financial Times headline I took my cue from was: ‘US consumers, tired of inflation, queue up for toilet paper and cheap Bordeaux wine’:

“… inflation… has left consumer prices in the US 26% higher than in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Consumer surveys show continued concern about inflation as the US imposes tariffs on trading partners.

“In good times we do well, and in bad times we do even better,” said Chris Nicholas, CEO of Sam’s Club US who reported that like-for-like sales rose 6.7 per cent in the first quarter, excluding fuel, outpacing the growth of his parent company’s US namesake shops …” .

It is a division of the Walmart Group, which had sales of USD 92.6 billion in 2025 . “Sam’s’ is named after its founder, Sam Walton, and only buys large packages (‘bulk’) there.

Read the long version here.

Compiled on 30 May , updated on 3 June 2025

Modern Proximity: medium-sized supermarkets drive the market

The supermarket and discount segment with sales of between 801 and 1,500 square metres achieved a turnover of EUR 40 billion. A value that is not only significantly higher than the other formats, but which unequivocally confirms that it is precisely in this size range that the most important game within the large-scale retail trade is being played out

Quick Take — Retail Area 1: discount stores and supermarkets win, hypermarkets and superstores fail

The total turnover of the entire region reached EUR 37.089 billion, according to the latest figures, an increase of 6.1% compared to the previous budget ofEUR 34.95 billion.

The discounters, in this scenario, confirmed their position as one of the most dynamic players: their turnover reached EUR 7.544 billion, marking anincrease of 9.2% over the previous year and gaining 2.88 percentage points in market share…

hypermarkets and superstores had a share drop of 2 points while supermarkets showed superior resilience and vitality: with EUR 12.452 billion turnover and a growth of 7.9%.

Agorà and Selex are leading this segment while Lidl but also Aldi are launching themselves on the attack in Milan.

Nielsen Area 1, which includes Piedmont, Val d’Aosta, Liguria and Lombardy, is one of the four geographical areas used by Nielsen for market data collection in Italy. Compared to the other areas (Area 2, Area 3 and Area 4), it is considered the most dynamic, a commercial reference point.

Aldi takes over from Bennet in Viale Monza in Milan: what does it mean?

What is happening in retail? It turns out that “In the last year, 20% of households have changed their opinion on the store with the best price/quality ratio… the local competitive scenario counts, as does the quality of the products and departments. Of the latter, fruit and vegetables remains the most important (57% of households) …

The best pasta on sale in the supermarket in 2023 according to Altroconsumo

The Best of the Test label goes to Barilla’s bronze spaghetti in the 400 gram packet. Also on the podium is Italiamo pasta, sold in LIDL supermarkets. For them second place ahead of Armando Lo Spaghetto. The palm for Best Purchase goes instead to the penne rigate of Sgambaro Pio. At the back we find Carrefour’s Classic spaghetti, Conad’s bronze-drawn penne rigate and spaghetti from the brand Le Stagioni d’Italia.

Quick Take — Gambero Rosso: the best spaghetti in Italy

Gambero Rosso did a taste test on 39 samples of spaghetti bought in supermarkets in Rome.

The blind tasting test was conducted by Maria Antonia Argenio, head of quality control at the Campania-based Graziano pasta factory in Monocalzati (AV), and two chefs, Giulia Mauro (Passepartout restaurant, Rome) and Jones Bargoni, assisted by two people from the Gambero Rosso editorial staff: Mara Nocilla and Eugenio Marini.

The cooking took place in unsalted water, respecting the timing indicated on the packaging, and the tasting was also done without salt and oil. As this was a tasting test, the tasters took into account evaluation criteria such as appearance, flavour, aromatic profile and consistency.

First: Garofalo then Todis (discount) then Voiello (Barilla), La Molisana, Esselunga, Granoro, Lidl, De Cecco, Consilia and PAM.

The only drawback: couldn’t the list of the 39 samples taken into consideration be published?