More and more shutters lowered. Trade, businesses down by 4.2%

Trade in the province of Forlì-Cesena suffers more than at a regional and national level, where the picture is certainly not prosperous. The numbers put together by the Chamber of Commerce confirm a general perception of persistent difficulty: in our provincial territory, and as of 31 December 2023, 7,412 active businesses in the trade sector operate, representing 20.9% of the total (21.3% in region and 25.2% in Italy). Their number is still decreasing compared to 2022 (-4.2%) and more accentuated than the regional (-3.0%) and national number (-2.1%). During 2023, 264 registrations were registered in the province against 509 terminations (not automatically), for a negative balance of 245 units. Compared to 2022, enrollments decreased by 4.7% and terminations increased by 2.4%.

63.2% are individual businesses, 18.4% partnerships and 17.8% joint-stock companies. Retail trade in particular is characterized by a prevalence of individual businesses (69.0%).

Companies operating in retail trade represent almost half of the sector (49.3%) and compared to the previous year they decreased by 4.6% (-4.1% in the region and -2.6% in Italy). In particular, with reference to the main types of specialized shops (64.7% impact on retail trade and change of -3.2%), compared to 2022 there is, in order of importance, a decrease in the majority of these: -5.6% clothing stores, -3.1% tobacconists, -7.5% newsstands, -1.4% hardware stores, -2.3% furniture stores, -2.7% pharmacies, -1.2% butchers, -8.8% fruit and vegetable shops, -4.7% footwear shops, -7.1% florists/pet shops, -7.9% of sporting goods, -12.5% ​​for telephone product shops and -5.3% for healthcare; On the other hand, perfumeries/herbalist shops increased (+1.2%) and distributors (+8.3%) while bookshops, fishmongers and drinks shops remained stable. Among non-specialised shops, those with a prevalence of food products (supermarkets) decreased by 3.5%, representing 6.7% of the retail trade.

The period of difficulty comes from afar: in 2023 there was an average increase in retail sales (+2.6%) but it must be taken into account that 2023 was characterized by an inflationary push which inflated the value of sales of various products in a non-homogeneous manner. The average annual change in 2023 is +4.7% for sales in the retail trade of food products, +0.8% for non-food products and +6.3% for those in hypermarkets, supermarkets and department stores.