Coop Italia has affirmed its leadership position in the Italian retail food market with a 19% share, practically unchanged compared to a year earlier.
The cooperative's 2014 results also reveal stable revenues, at €12.4 billion, while private label products surpassed 26% of total sales (+1% on 2013). At the end of last year, Coop had 1,189 stores across Italy.
In an attempt to boost competitiveness, Coop has been strenghtening international alliances, such as Coopernic, which aims to become the "biggest European purchase center" (€130 billion turnover and over 20,000 sales points). This initiative also includes Leclerc, Delhaize and Rewe.
According to the president of Coop Italia, Marco Pedroni, the tentative signs of recovery in consumer spending, after seven years of crisis, will be mostly directed towards durable goods and services rather than to food, which represents a cause of concern.
During its general assembly, Coop announced the launch of a "program of organisational change to better support the competitive strategy of good and safe food, accessible to all".
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic
