Crai revenues to 3.2 billion in 2025: electricity, gas and tlc enter the offering

Growth in revenues, territory and services. This is the course outlined by Giangiacomo Ibba, President and CEO of Crai Secom, the structure that operationally manages the Crai brand, during the annual convention with the members of the group, present in Italy with a network of about 1,800 points of sale, mainly proximity shops.

'This year the turnover will reach 3.2 billion, with a slight growth,' Giangiacomo Ibba tells Il Sole 24 Ore. 'The forecast for 2026 is 3.8 billion, while in 2027, when the five-year 'CraiFutura' plan ends, we are aiming for 4 billion, which could become 4.5'. The group also has a more ambitious goal: to improve system profits. "System Ebit by 2027 will have to increase from the current 1.7% to 5-6%," the CEO continues. "We will have to work on making processes more efficient, in particular logistics and the organisation of staff employed in the shops, and management control. We have already taken action to improve productivity with the recovery of about EUR 600 million'.

As part of this renewal drive, Crai enters the services market, focusing for the time being on energy with 'Crai Energy' and 'Crai Voce'. Crai Energy is a joint venture with the Swiss energy and commodities company Enet Energy, based in Lugano. Enet Energy has a turnover of EUR 10 billion and specialises in the supply of natural gas throughout Europe. Starting next year, Crai shops will offer electricity and gas supplies. "We will be the first large-scale retail chain in Italy to operate directly as a national player in the market for the supply of light and gas to end customers," explains Christian Crepaldi, CEO of Crai Energy. "The Crai member shop will be perceived as a multi-service smart hub and, above all, will generate extra revenues over time.

In the case of Crai Voce, the retailer has instead signed an agreement with Tiscali, a Tessellis Group company, to sell mobile telephony services on Tim's 4G and 5G network. The customer buys the rechargeable sim from Crai. The tariff plans include an entry level offer at a monthly cost of EUR 6.99 with 150 gigs of data traffic, unlimited voice and text messages. The second plan, sold at EUR 8.99, will have unlimited voice and sms while data traffic will be 250 Gb per month. Sim activation will take place on the Tiscali portal. "This is the first phase, which will be followed by the introduction of a whole series of services that will be developed for the Crai system and will strengthen the relationship between entrepreneurs and customers," explains Mario La Viola, strategic development director of the Crai Group.

These offers, which will be launched during the first half of 2026, will help to increase the profits of the shops. From these activities, the chairman expects 'that 10 per cent of the Ebitda of the Crai system will come from services. Modern distribution is a hyper-competitive market, and the sale of additional services improves the relationship with the customer,' Ibba emphasises. 'For the future we plan to add other services such as, for example, health services, creating a link between citizens and facilities, telemedicine, and parapharmacy.