Confimprese - Sace alliance for retail internationalisation

An assist to support the internationalisation plans of modern trade enterprises. This is the result of the memorandum of understanding signed by Confimprese and Sace to encourage the internationalisation process of retail and service companies. The aim is to encourage the use of Sace tools by Confimprese members to implement joint promotion, training and networking initiatives on internationalisation and business risk management, and to exchange information to support retail and services companies in foreign markets. "The agreement with Sace represents a step to strengthen the international competitiveness of retail and services companies. In a complex economic scenario, access to tools for risk management and export support is crucial," explains Mario Resca, president of Confimprese. The collaboration with Sace goes in this direction, providing operational solutions and qualified expertise. It is a clear signal of the importance of working as a system between institutions and companies to support the growth of Italia's entrepreneurial fabric. We are convinced that this synergy will generate concrete and lasting value for our entire association system'.

As for expansion in foreign markets, despite the worrying international scenario, which is jeopardising the resilience of consumption, the annual survey conducted by the Confimprese study centre on the plans to open shops abroad confirms a growth in the balance of sales outlets of +7.6% over 2025 and 2,737 new outlets. 90% of the sample already abroad will continue to expand their outlet network. At the top of the destination countries is Western Europe indicated by 48% of retailers, followed by Eastern Europe (19%), Middle East (14%) and Asia Pacific (13%). At the tail end America at 4% and Africa at 3%. "The collaboration with Confimprese multiplies the impact of our work," explains Michele Pignotti, CEO of Sace. "Thanks to our agreement, member companies will have at their disposal Sace's strategic services and tools to deal with foreign markets with greater solidity and awareness, from risk management to export development opportunities. The agreement is not just a formal commitment, but the start of a shared path made up of training, networking and the exchange of skills, elements that are today essential to compete in an increasingly complex global scenario". The international performance of retailers is interesting. Foreign sales represent on average 16% of total revenues, with peaks of well over 50% for some realities. Moreover, the foreign trends on a constant perimeter basis are all in the positive range: 50% of the companies recorded trends averaging +3.5%. In particular, clothing and accessories sees 60% of companies with performances of up to 8%.