About the GS- Carrefour operation and the Benetton – Delvecchio consortium

“Someone still has to explain to me why, in a retail market that needed concentration [and expertise], the government allowed a group that didn’t even have a delicatessen, to buy GS (which belonged to Sme =IRI= Italian State!) and then resell it quietly to a foreign group (Carrefour) after a few years” Mario Gasbarrino. This also applies to the New Princes operation

Quick Take — Carrefour Italy announces a ‘strategic reorganisation plan for its headquarters’

‘Employment impacts’ for 175 employees

On this subject, read this article, an excerpt of which I enclose: Carrefour is reported to have begun negotiations with Conad, Lidl and Esselunga to sell off the entire network (the news is confirmed by Repubblica on 6 July 2025: ‘ The decision is closely linked to the complexity of market conditions in Italy, where the large-scale retail sector is characterised by intense and fragmented competition, declining purchasing power and constant pressure on margins, caused by energy and logistics costs and rising interest rates’). Then there is the squeeze of the discounters that are advancing and there are the hypermarkets that continue to retreat.

Compiled 5 July, updated 6 July 2025