Revenues up for Conad. Now the focus is on specialised markets

Conad closes 2024 with a turnover of 21.1 billion with a growth of +4.5% compared to the previous year. The growth driver is the result of a mix of increased sales volumes and the contribution of the Private Label, which is worth just over a third of sales this year and reaches EUR 6.3 billion with a market share of 33.7% in the consumer packaged goods segment. As far as the near future is concerned, the focus will be much more on specialised sales channels and vertical services. "We are the leading Italian retail brand," emphasised Franceso Avanzini, General Manager of Conad, when presenting the 2024 preliminary results. The large-scale retail giant will sponsor the 'Maglia bianca' of the Giro d'Italia for the next three years. The 2025 edition of the Giro will take place from 9 May to 1 June, starting in Albania.

"Ours is a continuous growth and this is an element of solidity. Conad has maintained its market share at 15% of the Italian total, with a significant weight in all sales channels and in all geographical areas of the country,' explains Mauro Lusetti, President of Conad. 'I believe that in 2024 Conad has demonstrated that it is a solid system, which has been able in all these years to face this permacrisis situation that always presents us with challenges, maintaining this role as a leading brand, which has the same presence in the territory from North to South.

As far as 2025 is concerned, Avanzini says: "we do not foresee any percentage growth in margins, which will be concentrated in specialised channels such as health and wellness or discounters, which will compensate for the lower growth in traditional channels. Between now and 2030, we foresee limited growth in the large-scale retail market, combined with strong pressure on margins due to reduced purchasing power and the growth of discount stores. The competitive arena will remain crowded, with the growth of value and convenience specialists, channels in which Conad will have to increase its presence". Conad's offer is a range of formats such as the TuDay proximity shops (+5.8%), Superstores (+5.7%), PetStores (+17.8%), to which are added insurance policies "not Rca but accident, family and health policies", emphasises Avanzini, as well as travel, health and personal care, and also parapharmacies, opticians' shops, examination laboratories as well as fuel and energy and catering. These last are concepts the entrepreneurs' cooperative wants to focus on, following the business model adopted by other foreign chains. The HeyConad ecosystem is to be developed on a series of specialised outlets in an omnichannel perspective. All these activities generated a turnover of 1.2 billion in 2024, a figure that will have to grow year after year to compensate for the declining and ageing population. "Margins will be concentrated in specialist channels such as health and wellness or discounters, which will compensate for the lower growth in traditional channels," says the CEO. Between now and 2030, we anticipate moderate growth in the large-scale retail market, coupled with strong pressure on margins due to reduced purchasing power and the growth of discount stores. The competitive arena will remain crowded, with the growth of value and convenience specialists, channels in which Conad will have to increase its presence'.