Italian consumers are willing to spend the money they save on non-food products on high-quality foods including fruit and vegetables, according to Vincenzo Tassinari, chairman of Italy's largest food retailer Coop Italia.
In an interview with German grocery weekly Lebensmittel Zeitung, Mr Tassinari said that while many of Italy's approximately 60m consumers were after convenience, low prices and top-quality food, their willingness to spend money saved elsewhere on high-quality products had remained intact despite the recession.
'I would call Italian consumer behaviour in the current recession a little 'schizophrenic',' he told the newspaper. 'Many Italian consumers want convenience, low prices and top-quality food. Whether rich or poor, they tend to save on non-food products such as detergents and then seem happy to spend what they have saved on high-quality food.'
When asked if this made life difficult for food retailers in the country, he agreed, suggesting the leading operators would have to update their customer models.
'One consequence is that we can’t offer just one price line such as low prices,' he argued. 'This is also one of the reasons why the hard discounts haven’t even achieved a 10 per cent share of the Italian food market – unlike in many other European countries.'
With a leading market share of some 17.8 per cent, Coop Italia had to guarantee that when a consumer is looking for convenience in its stores, he or she will find it, Mr Tassinari said.
'We also have to make sure that the same consumer also finds low prices and/or top-quality food when he or she wants them,' he added. 'When consumer buying power is relatively low, we are obliged to offer low prices, but not necessarily the lowest price. The art is to find the right low price at which the consumer is also provided with products which offer both convenience and quality.'
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