REGGIO EMILIA – Sales unchanged, in the first quarter of 2024, for the Reggio Emilia retail trade compared to the same period of 2023. The data emerges from the analyzes of the research and statistics office of the Emilia Chamber of Commerce based on the results of the system’s economic survey Chamber of Commerce on commercial companies.
In particular, 43% of the companies interviewed talk about development, 29% confirm stability and 28% register a slowdown, with data substantially in line with those regarding Emilia-Romagna. On the other hand, the active companies operating in the trade sector decreased by 111 units, compared to the data set in March 2023, going from 9,642 to 9,531.
As for sales, stability was not for everyone: the retail trade of food products fell by 2.4%, as did that of non-food products in smaller businesses, while the values for hypermarkets, supermarkets and department stores (+5.9%).
The consistency of warehouse stocks at the end of the quarter records an adequate and stable value for 91% of the surveyed sample companies (86% regional) and an increase for 9% (13% the regional figure). Regarding the forecasts for sales trends in the second quarter of 2024, 74% of the companies hypothesize stability (58% the regional figure), 13% an increase (26% regional) and 12% a decrease (16% the regional figure).
Looking further ahead, the orientation of Reggio Emilia companies regarding the evolution of their business in the following 12 months is 64% towards a certain stability (57% regional data), 30% towards development (37% regional), towards 5% for the slowdown, with 1% predicting withdrawal from the market.
