Milan Home: the specialist retail sector is going from strength to strength

This trend is particularly pronounced in the ‘home and personal care’ product segment, where, between 2018 and 2025, the number of local outlets fell by 15 per cent, from 71,837 to 61,087, whilst turnover rose from 28.1 to 36 billion euros (+28 per cent). The network is therefore shrinking in terms of numbers, whilst the value generated is growing. This trend is also confirmed by the share of specialised shops in total retail turnover: in 2025, they will account for 57.2 per cent, contributing 234.8 billion euros out of a total of 410.7 billion.

This development is accompanied by an increasingly integrated relationship between the physical and digital spheres. Between 2018 and 2025, turnover from businesses operating via e-commerce, door-to-door sales and vending machines grew by 41.9 per cent, compared with 25.7 per cent for the retail sector as a whole.

Milano Home will showcase the most dynamic trends shaping the offering of the new specialist retail sector, whose appeal also lies in its ability to bring together different products, styles and areas of use.

“The concept of gift-giving has changed because those who buy – and go into a shop to seek advice – want to make a good impression on others, but also to treat themselves – said Emanuele Guido, director of Milano Home at Fiera Milano – so the gift is evolving beyond its more traditional forms; another area where shops are really pushing for personalisation is the packaging.”

It is within this context that the ‘gift concept’ comes into its own, as one of the key themes of this year’s event: the notion of the gift, in fact, takes objects beyond their usual purpose and opens up new ways of interpreting and presenting them.

This therefore presents retailers with a new challenge: whereas the focus used to be on expanding the product range, the challenge today is to create a coherent offering by selecting, combining and presenting products in a way that suggests new ways of using them.

The same logic applies to food, which is increasingly present in commercial contexts linked to the home, gift-giving and lifestyle. This is the concept behind GourMeet, the space that Milano Home dedicates to the relationship between design, packaging and fine food. Now in its second edition, it brings packaged gourmet food into the realm of gift-giving, appealing to an audience that is increasingly attentive to the quality, excellence and uniqueness of their choices.

This trend also extends to the pet sector, to which the Bau House section is dedicated, as this segment is becoming increasingly significant for the home retail sector as well: today, pet accessories and products are increasingly finding their way into clothing and footwear shops, as well as other retail outlets, with designer leads, coats and bowls now featuring in the product range alongside traditional categories.

Finally, there is a growing interest in high-quality paper and stationery – categories in which the product derives its value precisely from the experience of making a choice and the expertise of the sales assistant. Paper, pens, pencils, diaries and greeting cards are thus once again becoming items to seek out and discover, chosen for the quality of their materials, their design and the pleasure they can offer – a perfect expression of the change currently taking place.