study conducted by Morgan Stanley, the Italian retail market has at last exited its recession.Its author wrote:
"The recession widened the economic divide between northern Italy and southern Italy. Amongst French and international retailers in particular, this was a problem: Carrefour and Auchan had the majority of their outlets in the south between 2009 and 2012."
The study provides a panoramic overview of the market. Even more so than its French counterpoint, the Italian market is highly fragmented: its leader, Coop Italia, possesses just a 15 per cent market share; Auchan is in fifth position with 7.3 per cent, with Carrefour just behind, having moved from 5.9 per cent to 6.5 per cent as a result of its recent acquisitions.
