Marketing

Quick Take — Large-scale retail: Luigi Rubinelli’s explanation of the Greater Milan area

… Esselunga’s best competitor is Iper la grande I (Finiper), but also Lidl and Eurospin.

A separate argument should be made about Tigros and Iperal, which, in fact, are somewhat smaller Esselunga stores with less extensive and deeper assortments, but where it is probably easier to shop in less time. To this must be added the presence of bistros with good value for money.

And then, you must allow us, the presence of a convincing fruit and vegetable department. This is because, beyond the performance of the grocery-salon, the main reason for shopping in a supermarket remains the fruit and vegetables, whether one likes it or not.

It is a pity, dear Luigi, that the fruit and vegetable departments are – in general – increasingly pitiful and it is a race to see who is ‘less worse’ (although Coop Fi might be an exception)

Below: Daniele Tirelli’s analysis of Goodwill – corporate goodwill – related: Localism. Here is the other key word emphasised by the seventh edition of CX Store Research. Esselunga’s declining trend is what attracts attention more than any other fact: a brand that for decades represented the absolute benchmark of quality in Italian food retail is now seeing its Relative Goodwill eroded not by a stronger national competitor, but by a constellation of local brands that surround and undermine it – each in its own catchment area – with value propositions credible enough to intercept the incumbent’s customer, i.e. the one who appreciates Esselunga’s quality but sees an overpricing…

Thanks to Mario Gasbarrino

Edited 12 May, updated 24 May 2026

Marketing

Quick Take — The retail sector is changing its skin: unfaithful customers, agent AI, autonomous stores and promotions that are no longer enough. And then there is localism

…The local product is no longer a simple reference, but an identity tool. Some brands support small producers in the development of recipes, packaging and quality processes, transforming the large-scale retail trade into an ecosystem that enhances local supply chains. The private label is evolving: no longer just a convenience lever, but a system of values capable of dialoguing with communities, digital creators and new targets. In some brands it already represents more than half of the turnover ( Below: Esselunga ‘produced in Tuscany’ labels introduced more than 30 years ago for fresh products and still used today: in 2003, 70% of our suppliers invoiced less than 100K)…

From intelligent trolleysto agent AI, from autonomous stores to the rediscovery of the territory, a rapidly evolving large-scale retail sector emerges: technological, data-driven, automated, but at the same time more human, local and relational. A sector that interprets increasingly fragmented and fluid needs, building a new balance between innovation and proximity.

I hope with all my heart that these changes will take place, especially the technological ones, but I wonder: when it comes to technology on social (AI, e-commerce, customised promotions, etc.) how come there seems to be no interest on the part of Italian users?

Drafted 9 May, updated 10 May 2026

Marketing

Quick Take — The Gastronaut brings real Genovese to the home pantry: when the retailer innovates before the industry

There is a sauce that everyone in Naples knows, that perfumes homes for hours on end, that requires almost monastic patience and dedication. A sauce that, paradoxically, has only the name of Genoa and, what is simple, only the ingredients. It is the Genovese, one of the pillars of Neapolitan cuisine, celebrated on TV and social media, but still largely unknown outside the borders of Campania.

Until now, those who wanted to taste a real Genovese had to either go to Naples or resign themselves to spending an entire day at the cooker amidst onion tears and endless waiting. Then came the intuition of Gasbarrino and Nicotra, the creative duo who, for the Decò chain , develop both the private label line and the top of the range, Il Gastronauta…read the whole story here