ABSTRACT
Following the pattern of the remainder of the individual-country chapters in this study, this analysis of retailing in Italy commences with a detailed overview of recent trends and the current position of the retail sector in the Italian economy. This is followed by a survey of developments in retailing in Italy over the last three decades of the twentieth century, which was essentially the period over which the ‘modernization’ of Italian retailing occurred. An analysis is provided of the various associative forms of food retailing, which played a particularly important role in the development of modern retailing in Italy. The fifth section of this chapter looks in some detail at the impact of the relevant legislation on the development of retailing in Italy since 1970, including the most recent legislation and the likely changes in retailing trends following this. The chapter then offers an overview of the principal retail forms in Italy and some of their constituent organizations, and this individual-country study is brought to an end with some conclusions on particular features of Italian retailing and their impact upon consumers.
