Director Dameri: “The dimension of business aggregation is therefore absolutely strategic for the survival and growth of our micro-enterprises”
On Monday 13 May, at the Chamber of Commerce of Genoa, Confesercenti and Confcommercio Liguria with the support of the regional department for economic development presented “Liguria in bottega”, a conference dedicated to the peculiar experience of the integrated street centers and the need to continue to support the model, in particular, in the areas at greatest risk of maintaining the distribution network, penalized in recent years by the spread of medium and large-scale distribution structures and online commerce. This event is just one of the five actions envisaged by the tender which derives from the additional urbanization charges that large-scale retail trade establishments over a thousand square meters must pay, strongly supported by trade associations to protect local trade.
«Proximity trade, in addition to reviving and improving the liveability of our urban centres, is an indispensable social support for our community, especially for small towns and for the most vulnerable people – explains the regional councilor for economic development and Commerce Alessio Piana – For this reason we have activated a provision of 1.4 million euros to support those areas particularly penalized by the spread of medium and large-scale distribution structures, promoting the competitiveness of small businesses, historically present in these areas, with projects carried out by trade associations. A part of these resources, around 400 thousand euros, is intended to support and enhance the CIVs, a form of aggregation between traders which represents a fundamental tool for the relaunch of local trade”.
«The “Liguria in Bottega” conference highlights the centrality of local trade with its enormous benefits for the territory from an economic, social and security point of view – declares the municipal councilor for commerce Paola Bordilli – the regional councilorship for economic development together Over the years, the Chamber system has refined the tools of specific tenders for the CIVs which have stimulated study, analysis and proposals for the territories of which Genoa is part and to which we have been called upon to provide support. As Municipalities we need these public-private synergies that systematize shops, clubs and shops in the same neighborhood, improving liveability and usability, increasing the quality and quantity of services offered to consumers, including the increasingly numerous tourists who in these places can discover and admire the richness of our tradition. Just recently the competent regional department has modified the regional trade law, also after sharing with the Municipality of Genoa, demonstrating attention to neighborhood businesses as a fundamental piece of our commercial offer: economic resources and social protections that represent authentic excellence of the territory, thanks to their strong identity value and their rooting in Genoese history”.
«With today’s meeting – adds the general secretary of the Genoa Chamber of Commerce, Maurizio Caviglia – we wanted to retrace fifteen years of history of the Civ in Liguria together with the subjects who accompanied us in this adventure, which still represents a unique event today. in Italy and around the world: the Liguria Region, the Municipality of Genoa, Confcommercio and Confesercenti Liguria. But, in addition to outlining the path traveled and presenting the latest regulatory innovations, we wanted to take a look towards the future, the evolution of commerce and its relationship with urban transformations and digital, calling on national experts such as Andrea Granelli and Elena Franco and teachers such as Luca Tamini (Polytechnic of Milan) and Laura Fregolent (University of Venice).
«The 25 years of history of Civ, born in Genoa and established as a model not only at a national level, make us proud, even of the mistakes that were made along the way but, always, on the path of innovation – he begins in his speech, the regional director of Confesercenti, Andrea Dameri -. Thanks for the success of this experience goes first and foremost, naturally, to the presidents and all the associates of the Civ, to the administrators and public officials, to those who are no longer here today or occupy other roles and to those who joined in the running, without forgetting the contribution of skills brought by the many consultants and professionals involved in various capacities. The Civ call which is about to end on 30 June tries to provide an answer to the need for greater integration between the various Civs, because the territorial scale of the single consortium is often unable to provide adequate and sufficient responses to the companies it represents. A reasoning that applies both to the many realities of the historic center that share the same needs and the same objectives, and to those of the hinterland, realities that are often still small and widespread but very precious for the maintenance of the territories, which in order to prosper must be made available net. The dimension of the business combination is therefore absolutely strategic for the survival and growth of our micro-enterprises. Added to this is the theme of digitalisation, because monitoring and data collection allow us to understand which types of goods can have the greatest future based on the demand of individual territories. A reflection must then be made on logistics: the so-called last mile, naturally, plays a central role in the supply of retail activities, while on a large scale regulatory interventions are necessary to stem the sell-off of valuable areas to large companies. e-commerce player. An aspect that goes hand in hand with the last, great priority to be brought to the attention of the legislator: that of a greater balance between large and small distribution, thinking on a medium-long term perspective and with greater involvement of the territories and of associations”.
«Supporting the Civs with targeted actions is the priority for Confcommercio Liguria, when the intentions are combined with the support of the public administrations we really manage to trace an important path and we are here to reiterate the fundamental role of the neighborhood shop, not for nothing the conference today bears the title of Liguria in the shop – declares Alessandro Cavo, president of Confcommercio Genoa and deputy vice president of Confcommercio Liguria –. But urban regeneration is not just about the physical appearance of cities; it is also about social and economic regeneration. Civs promote the creation of more cohesive and inclusive communities, offering job opportunities and promoting local economic development. Through our trade association, through training programs for entrepreneurs, we contribute to stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship in the urban fabric. To go into concrete terms, among the actions carried out by Confcommercio in the Genoese territory we have: Safety Plans for all Civ which are part of the Confcommercio Consulta, a way to allow the CIVs to be able to animate the territory with a great tool (now mandatory) made available through Confcommercio, by the announcement; from mid-May a study supported by a series of interviews will begin in the historic center to understand which commercial activities are most needed in order to encourage commercial settlements that can have more opportunities and thus make the offer complete and homogeneous; we commissioned an analysis from the Polytechnic of Milan to understand the impact of the construction sites in the city on our Civs and associated activities, in this way we could understand the stability of small neighborhood businesses and protect them, as Confcommercio has always done. Also thanks to the announcement, we will promote a campaign with totems throughout the city to support all the territories of the Civ Confcommercio consultancy which includes around 40 integrated street centers throughout the entire area of the metropolitan city. Within the tender we commissioned 8 studies for as many historic center agreements for the areas of Nervi, Sestri Ponente, Rapallo, via San Vincenzo, Boccadasse, Cornigliano, Pontedecimo, Pegli. All of this will be an added value to what will obviously be coordinated by the regional municipal superintendency and the Chamber of Commerce. Confcommercio’s intent through these actions is undoubtedly transversal across the entire city and, at a Ligurian level, involves interventions for the entire region”.
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