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Retail Therapy
| 2015
ITALIANS DEMONSTRATE
INCREASED APPETITE FOR
FOOD AND DRINK
Over recent years, the
Italian retail market
has suffered from the
economic downturn
with high levels of
unemployment and
falls in household
disposable income,
but there are now
general signs of a slow
improvement.
The luxury sector seems to have
largely resisted the recession,
thanks in part to the influx of
tourist consumers from Russia,
the Middle East and the Far East.
The buoyancy of the sector is
reflected in the rents of the Golden
Quadrilateral in Milan, where prime
levels are now easily in excess of
€5,000 per sq m per year.
Whilst the appreciation of good
food and drink is something
imbued in all Italians from birth, the
Slow Food movement that started
in the 1980s was in response to the
challenge posed by globalisation.
Since then, the country has further
developed its expertise in food
technology and marketing. Italy
now hosts the European Food
Safety Agency in Parma, and this
year EXPO International is being
held in Milan with the theme of
Feed the Planet, Energy for Life.
Eataly exemplifies this concept,
with a layout in the form of market
stalls for fresh, local food and a mix
of restaurant dining and fast quality
food.
In the space of just four years, it
now has 12 stores in Italy and five
Italy