Quick Take — Pewex: launches ‘Radici nel Lazio’ in the fruit and vegetable sector

“Radici nel Lazio” is the name of the new project resulting from the agreement with the CAR in Rome. What are the most important aspects of this initiative?

Our agreement with the CAR (Rome Agri-Food Centre) is not simply a procurement initiative. Through this project, we are seeking to adopt a model based on an extremely short supply chain, drastically reducing the time between harvest and display. Suffice it to say that in some cases we manage to get produce onto the shelves on the very morning it is harvested (*)

The benefit for the consumer is immediate: a visibly fresher product that retains its organoleptic properties, flavour and aroma intact. Better-tasting produce that lasts much longer, with the added benefit of reducing household waste. The produce from“Radici nel Lazio” travels a very short distance. No long journeys, no prolonged stays in cold storage: the fruit and vegetables are harvested in the fields of Lazio, transported by lorry and delivered directly to our shops. The agreement currently involves around fifteen producers, but we intend – not least in light of the results – to expand it in the coming months.

Finally, as our company is deeply rooted in this region, “Radici nel Lazio” embodies the aim of bringing the agricultural and food wealth of these areas to our shelves, whilst promoting the work of local producers. For Pewex, local sourcing is indeed a commercial decision, but it is also an ethical one and a choice made by those who produce and provide employment in our region…(says David Cetorelli, commercial director).

(*) Esselunga, for example, would receive its deliveries the following day (the lorries travelled overnight and the goods were received at dawn the next day, before being distributed across the network).

Below: courgettes, a private-label salad – Consilia – by Pewex on sale in Prati (Rome), and the report by Daniele Tirelli (Cx Store Research) showing that the chain ranks second in fruit and vegetable sales in Lazio, behind Lidl.

Overall, the chain ranks first in the region.

Quick Take — Tesco is considering selling its European operations

Drafted on 8 July, updated on 14 July 2026.

According to the Financial Times, the supermarket chain is exploring options with its banks for its operations in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where it employs over 22,000 people. The sale of the business would put an end to Tesco’s ambitions outside the UK and Ireland, including its failed attempt to build a new supermarket chain from scratch in the United States.

I visited a Tesco in Budapest in 2008 and didn’t come away with a very good impression.

Tesco’s latest figures can be found here: turnover from the Central European division is marginal, accounting for 6.2 per cent of the total.

The EBIT figures (operating profit: the blue line shows the trend in Central Europe’s EBIT) below are taken from a subsequent Financial Times article which reminds us all that purchasing in the retail sector takes place at a local, country-specific level.

This has been one of the major obstacles to the internationalisation of Carrefour, Walmart, Auchan and Rewe, for example: the approach is international, but the products are, for the most part, local.

Quick Take — Behind the mixed fried seafood platter served in restaurants, there are often only imported, industrially processed, frozen and pre-fried squid and octopus

In Italy, we love squid, cuttlefish, prawns and octopus, but our seas do not provide enough to meet demand. The result? We import huge quantities. According to EUMOFA 2024 data, the cephalopod market (squid and octopus) is worth around 780 million euros in imports. Between January and September 2024 alone, we purchased over 34,000 tonnes of squid, mainly from India, Thailand and Argentina. And what about octopus? Morocco alone accounts for 45 per cent of what we eat, followedby Indonesia.

If, on the other hand, you find anchovies, sardines or pink prawns in your fried dish, then yes: they are much more likely to be home-grown. But when it comes to squid and octopus, the image of ‘locally caught’ is often a myth for which we pay dearly.

The real problem isn’t the frozen product itself – which can be excellent if it’s of good quality – but the lack of transparency. Many restaurants, especially tourist or seasonal ones, don’t prepare anything from scratch in the kitchen. They use industrial semi-prepared products: squid that’s already been cut, breaded and pre-fried. The chef simply has to take them out of the freezer and ‘reheat’ them in boiling oil. It’s quick, cheap and the result is always the same…

The ‘local’ section of the prawn and shellfish counter at the Gi.Mar. fishmonger’s in Biassono (MB) only stocks prawns from Mazara del Vallo; everything else comes from far afield and is defrosted, like the giant squid in the photo.

Written on 25 June, updated on 27 June 2026

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

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