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5.4 - Trade

Trade is a key to understanding the economic development of an area. The distribution network, especially its final stage, has always had a positive impact on the quality of life in cities because it provides citizens with goods and services of all kinds.
The increase in the number of outlets of small, medium and large distribution, their location and the diversification of services give consumers the opportunity to choose competitively among different forms of sale and shops with different features and sizes. This way the constantly evolving requirements of customers can be met.
In 2007 there were 106,003 actively trading companies in Veneto. In the economy of the region trade regularly contributes over one fifth (23%) to all economic activities, the highest percentage among service enterprises. It is well-known, however, that trade is a quite dynamic sector and that it has always had a high turnover. In 2007, there were 6,175 enterprises newly registered with the Veneto Chambers of Commerce, but as many as 8,514 were taken off the record because they stopped trading. (Figure 5.4.1) and (Figure 5.4.2)
The number of no longer active companies is much higher than that of new ones. This negative balance confirms that the restructuring of the sector which is characterised by large emerging enterprises replacing the numerous small-sized ones. At regional level active trading enterprises are mainly to be found in the economically most lively provinces - Padova, Verona, Treviso and Vicenza, while Belluno and Rovigo have a limited number of local units, which is, nevertheless, proportional to the resident population.
The latest year available to compare economic and financial data at national level is 2005. In that year local trading units registered a turnover of almost 90 billion euros, i.e. 36% of the turnover in the whole of Veneto local units with an average of 271,400 euros per member of staff. They employed over 328,000 staff, almost 10% of the total employed in Italy. (Table 5.4.1)
The trade sector is dynamic and rapidly growing. Its gross turnover and the companies' added value have grown by 7.9% and 10.4% respectively in the last year and over 20% since 2000. (Figure 5.4.3)
After a slight decrease in the 2002-2003 period, labour productivity in the trade sector has increased in Veneto too, where it remains above national levels with 42,200 euros per labour unit in 2005 compared to 39,800 euros in Italy. (Figure 5.4.4)

Top  Retail sales

Nearly half of all trade enterprises in the region are retailers. Especially in Venezia and Belluno retail trade almost reaches a 60% share. (Figure 5.4.5)
In 2005 sales - up 15% compared to the previous year - generated a turnover of 28.5 billion euros, corresponding to 10% of the national value.
To create an up-to-date picture of the current sales level we use the Istat index, which indicates the value of fixed retail trade sales and which is calculated by summing up data of large-scale and small-sized enterprises. The value is expressed in current values, including price and quantity trends.
Such index is not available for Veneto. However, by looking at the data for North-East Italy we can draw valuable information for our region too.
In 2007 the value of fixed retail trade sales in North-East Italy is only slightly above that of the previous year - +0.5% - but is quite in line with national data.
By analysing the data we can ascribe this slight increase to food sales (+0.7% in North-East Italy and +0.9% in Italy). Non-food sales, on the other hand, remain fairly stable (+0.2%).
Data on retail trade sales are further included in the bi-monthly monitoring of sales trends in organised large-scale retail trade (Note 1)
In 2007 sales in organised large-scale retail trade in Veneto exceeded the figure of the previous year by 1.8%. Though modest and lower than the national one (+2-1%) growth confirms that these kinds of trade operations are attractive to consumers. (Figure 5.4.6)
The sector of packaged convenience goods drives growth in large-scale retail trade (Note 2) where sales - +3% in Veneto and 2.8% in Italy - offset decreases in the non-food sector - 3.3% in Veneto and -0.7% in Italy respectively.

Top  Large-scale retail trade

In Veneto too citizens tend more and more to buy from large-scale retailing. Though groceries guarantee greater trust between seller and customer, they cannot often compete with supermarkets, hypermarkets, department stores and minimarkets as to the prices the latter can charge thanks to the high volume of sales.
However, it is not just the price to decide consumer preferences in purchasing behaviour. Other factors such as service quality, easy access and time saving are playing an ever more important role.
It is large-scale retail shops that provide great advantages in an attempt to increase their appeal and beat competition: comfortable, large car parks for customers, instalment payment services, fidelity cards, bonus points and additional services such as baby sitting improve customer retention and attract new customers. This "battle" further improves the overall quality of the trade network to the full advantage of customers. Historical data show that large-scale retail shops have spread quickly and have become quite common everywhere in Veneto. Since 2000 the number of shops has increased on average by 35% with a peak of +54.5% for hypermarkets in 2006. (Table 5.4.2)
Department stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets
In 2006 in Veneto there were 1,178 department stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets - 30 more than in the previous year. They are mostly located in provinces of Verona, Padova, Vicenza and Treviso which register over 200 each, while Rovigo and Belluno have a little more than 120 overall. They have an average size of over 1,200m2 , about 30.3m2 every 100 residents and they employ 25,531 staff, mainly in supermarkets.
There are, however, relevant differences in the types of shops. In the last year department stores that are meant to sell non-food goods have grown almost 7% in Italy, while in Veneto they are slightly decreasing as to number (-2 units), size (-2%) and staff (-3.8%).
Supermarkets and hypermarkets, i.e. shops that also trade in food products have grown both in number - +3% and + 2% respectively - and in size (+4% and + 6.3%) thus following the positive trend on a national level.
While in Italy the number of staff in supermarkets and hypermarkets increases by 4% every year, in Veneto shops the overall growth of employment (+1,2%) has considerably decreased owing to the drop in the number of staff in hypermarkets (-3,5%). (Figure 5.4.7a), (Figure 5.4.7b) and (Figure 5.4.7c)
Minimarkets
Minimarkets belong to large-scale retailing although they are more similar to groceries. As they directly compete with the groceries, minimarkets can also develop in town centres. This kind of shops has quickly met with the favour of customers, probably because they offer a more tailor-made service, have a vast range of products and a good price-quality ratio.
At national level growth rates are higher than for other types of shops in large-scale retailing. In one year the number of minimarkets has increased by 11.3% and the number of staff by 12.4%. Their size has extended further and is now almost 1,500,000m2 overall.
In 2006 in Veneto there were 506 shops, i.e. 6.3% more than the previous year. Similarly, the number of staff grew (+7,3%) as well as the shop size (+5,4%) which is now on average 3.2 m2 per 100 inhabitants.
If we look at distribution in the region, we can see that these shops are quite common in the province of Verona (138) and Treviso (112), while there are not even 60 in the provinces of Rovigo and Belluno.

Top  Trade parks

Trade parks are a particular form of trade in Veneto (Note 3). They are defined as a set of at least three shops in a limited space that, even if it has a number of functions, it has a single use (Note 4).
In the long run a positive trend is forecast for shopping centres where large-scale retailing can be found. Trade parks are in fact a viable alternative to shopping centres especially for companies such as DIY and electronics that need large areas but cannot bear the high costs deriving from the surface areas required to have a space in the shopping centres. For this reason, special care should be taken in the design, upkeep and management stages.
Like large-scale retailing shops, trade parks are mainly found in the most productive central area of Veneto. In 2006 the 18 trade areas identified in Veneto hosted 79 trade parks with an overall surface of 901,010m2 , the bulk of which was used for the sale of non-food products (768,061m2) and 35% belonging to large-scale retailing. The main features of the area, however, cause many differences in the location of trade parks both in terms structure and arrangement of the sales surface area. With its 27 trade parks Venezia is top of the region. The parks are almost equally distributed in the Venezia (12) and San Donà-Portogruaro (14) areas, while in Chioggia there is only one. Next in the ranking are Padova with 14 parks, 11 of which are located in the Padova trade area, and the provinces of Treviso (12) and Vicenza (10). The last province in the list is Belluno where there are only 3 trade parks, all in the Belluno-Feltre area. (Figure 5.4.8)
In general, sales surface areas in trade parks are mainly meant for medium-sized and grocery-like shops, except for Verona and the Este-Monselice area, where sales surface areas of large-size enterprises prevail.



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Notes

  1. Organised large-scale distribution includes supermarkets and hypermarkets. Monitoring is carried out by Unioncamere together with REF (Ricerche per l'Economia e la Finanza)
  2. Packaged convenience goods include: food groceries, drinks and beverages, frozen food, fresh food, animal care, house clearing and personal hygiene. Non-food includes textiles, clothing, general store goods /bazaar/ and household appliances.
  3. Trade parks are regulated by regional law L.R. no 15 del 13/08/2004.
  4. Decision of the Giunta no. 670 dated 04/03/2005.


Figure 5.4.1
Start-up and closing-down rate of trade enterprises. Veneto and Italy - Year 2007
Figure 5.4.2
Balance of trade enterprises. Veneto and Italy - Years 2005:2007
Table 5.4.1
Number of active enterprises in 2007, gross turnover, company added value and number of staff in the Veneto trade sector in 2005
Figure 5.4.3
2005/2004 percentage variation and 2005/2000 percentage variation for the number of active enterprises, gross turnover, companies' added value and number of staff in the trade sector in Veneto
Figure 5.4.4
Labour productivity by region (thousands of constant euros, base year 2000) - Year 2005
Figure 5.4.5
Percentage distribution of active trade enterprises in Veneto by sub-sector and province -Year 2007
Figure 5.4.6
Annual percentage variation of sales in organised large-scale retail trade by region - Year 2007
Table 5.4.2
Local units, sales surface area and number of staff in large-scale retailing in Veneto by province - Year 2006.
Figure 5.4.7a
Percentage variation 2006/2005 in the number of shops in large-scale retailing. Veneto and Italy
Figure 5.4.7b
Percentage variation 2006/2005 in the shop size in large-scale retailing. Veneto and Italy
Figure 5.4.7c
Percentage variation 2006/2005 in the number of staff in large-scale retailing. Veneto and Italy
Figure 5.4.8
Sales surface area of shops in m2 in trade parks in Veneto by business - Year 2006

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