In 2025, in a context characterized by almost zero inflation, the big organised distribution (GDO) Italian food-based distribution records a sales growth of +4,3% compared to 2024, accelerating from the previous year's +2,3%. The data confirms a structural growth trend: between 2019 and 2024, sales increased overall by +30,9%, with an average annual rate of +5,5%.
The analysis comes from the Observatory on Large-Scale Distribution created byMediobanca Studies Area, which aggregates the economic and financial data of 118 Italian companies and 30 international operators, covering 95,8% of the national market. In 2024, the turnover overall sector raggiunge 109,8 billion of euros (excluding VAT), of which 13,4 billion generated by foreign-controlled operators, equal to 12,2% of the total.
Promotional revenues growing, margins under pressure but holding up
In the period 2019-2024, Italian large-scale distribution recorded positive trends in revenues Accessories, with revenue from promotional activities growing by an average of 4,1% annually. These revenues represent an average of 6,5% of sales, while real estate revenues stand at 1,2%.
The structure of the Costs This confirms the industry's labor-intensive nature: personnel costs account for 12,5% of sales, followed by transportation and logistics at 3,1% and energy costs at 1,9%. This picture highlights the high impact of labor and logistics.
In 2024 profitability show one substantial holding: the EBIT margin stood at 2,7%, in line with the period average (2,5%), while ROI reached 7,1%, above the five-year average (6%). Compared to other sectors, food retailing ranks below Food & Beverage (4,6% EBIT margin) but above non-food retailing in terms of capital efficiency (ROI 10,5% for the latter).
These indicators support the investment growth, which in 2024 will increase by +4,9% compared to 2023. In the five-year period 2020-2024, the sector will also distribute 1,3 billion euros in dividends and collect 691 million in capital increases.
Eurospin leads profits and discount stores grow more than average
The segment of discount continues to gain ground. In 2024, sales will grow by +3,6%, compared to +2% for other operators, while in the 2019-2024 period, the average annual rate will reach 8,4%, more than double the 4,9% of other formats. In terms of sales profitabilityDiscount stores show significantly higher margins: the EBIT margin stands at 5,1% compared to 2,1% for other operators, while the ROI reaches 16,6%, compared to 5,6% for other groups.
Among the protagonists stands out Eurospin, which recorded 1,9 billion euros of cumulative profits between 2019 and 2024, positioning itself ahead of VéGé (1,685 billion) e Selex (1,6515 billion). In 2024 the following also emerge: profitability performanceNoto (Az) recorded an EBIT margin of 6,5%, Cive 6,1%, and Eurospin 5,9%. In terms of ROI, the top positions were held by Radenza Group (20,6%), Md (19,6%), and Eurospin (18,3%).
Organized Distribution and Market Concentration
The Italian market shows a growing concentration: the share of the top seven operators will increase from 52,2% in 2010 to 71% in 2025, an increase of 7,1 percentage points from 2019. Without the contribution of organized distribution, the share would have remained around 50%.
Among cooperatives and associative groups, Pac 2000A (Conad Group) is the largest company with a turnover of 4.902 million euros in 2024, followed by Coop Alliance 3.0 (3.975 million), Conad North West (3.239 million) e Unicoop Florence (3.045 million). The cooperative system It also highlights a reduction in shareholder loans, which goes from 8 billion in 2019 to 7,1 billion in 2024, accompanied by 612 million in net financial income and 707 million in write-downs in the period considered.
The performance of the main operators and territorial differences
Among the most dynamic groups between 2019 and 2024, the following stand out: Radenza Group (+13,5% annually), In's Market (+ 12,1%), Tatò Paris (+ 10,4%) and Agora (+10,1%). In 2024 the highest growth rates will be recorded for RetailPro (+7,9%) and Agorà (+7,8%), followed by Sait (+ 5,4%), Eurospin (+ 5,1%), Selex (+ 4,6%), Conad e Lidl (+3,9%). In terms of profitabilityThe highest EBIT margins were recorded by Noto (6,5%), while discounters Cive (6,1%) and Eurospin (5,9%) stood out. Radenza Group (20,6%), Md (19,6%), and Eurospin (18,3%) stood out for ROI.
From a territorial point of view, the South and the Islands show the greatest dynamism with double-digit growth between 2019 and 2024 for operators such as Megaholding (+ 12,1%), Arena group (+ 11,6%), Radenza Group (+ 13,5%) and Abbi Holding (+13,4%). In 2024, four operators will exceed one billion euros in revenue: Megaholding (2.087 million), Conad Adriatico (1.345,3 million), Arena Group (1.265,7 million) and Multicede (1.245,5 million).
In the Tri-Veneto area, operators such as Unicomm, Aspiag Service e Ali GroupAmong the groups with a turnover exceeding 200 million, the following stand out: supermarkets Visotto (+12,9% Cagr), Migross (+ 10,9%) and Group Lipstick (+10%), with good performance also in terms of margins and ROI.
International comparison and productivity
In 2024, the main international retailers operate on a very large scale, with turnovers ranging from 649,3 billion euros Walmart up to 20,5 billion euros by Wm Morrison. In this context, a different degree of internationalization emerges: Jeronimo Martins leading with a foreign incidence of 80,7% of turnover (mainly in Poland), followed by Ahold Delhaize (78,6%) and Seven & i (77,1%), while also Carrefour (53,7%) ed Elo Auchan (46,5%) confirm a strong presence on foreign markets.
On the level of profitability, leading international retailers report an average ROI of 10,2% in 2024, up from 9,9% the previous year, signaling an improvement in overall efficiency in the industry.
With regard to the productivity, stands out Esselunga, which confirms its leadership with 16.071 euros in sales per square meter, the highest value among the large global operators. The British follow J Sainsbury (13.924 euros) e Tesco (12.893 euros), together with the Australians Coles (11.815 euros) e Woolworths (11.694 euros), and the Canadian one Empire (11.203 euro).
