QUALITALY 139

May 2024 IV MAGAZINE AT PAGE 14 FOCUS ON Restaurant chains: an Italian example GROWING MORE THAN THE REST OF THE CATERING INDUSTRY, WITH FAST FOOD OUT IN FRONT, THERE IS ALSO AN ITALIAN WAY OF APPROACHING THE SEGMENT. ONE THAT FOCUSES ON SYNERGIES WITHOUT FORGETTING THE TRADITION OF ITALIAN HOSPITALITY by Anna Muzio We are the country of small micro- enterprises: family-run, artisanal, sometimes improvised, often ingenious. And catering is no exception, indeed. It provides that touch of Italian hospitality, which, together with the unquestionable attraction of our cuisine, makes us famous throughout the world. That, however, is going the other way. Namely in the direction of chains. SMALL BUT GROWING NUMBERS Let’s start by saying that in Italy the phenomenon is, if not in its infancy, certainly low compared to other major western countries. Restaurant chains are worth 11% of the market, with 9.9 billion euro turnover, against 26% of the European average and 35% worldwide. Out of the 331,888 restaurant enterprises, the ‘chains’ have almost 11,500 players with a clear prevalence in the north. They are growing steadily, however: they have almost doubled since 2011, when they had a 5.8% share with 4.2 billion euro turnover. Little more than a niche, in the end, but which, Fipe tells us in its latest report, is doing better than the others: the chains have grown by 11%, against an industry average of 8.6% according to Deloitte, with a growth of four percentage points on 2019, but the feeling - and the numbers - tell us that there is still much to conquer. As for the average receipt, in 2023 in the chains, very different in terms of offer and target, it was close to EUR 10. And funds invested: in the period 2018- 2022, there were 28 M&A transactions in the commercial catering sector. One example above all is La Piadineria, recently acquired by the CVC Capital fund in a EUR 600 million deal. SCALABILITY AND DIGITISATION Joint purchases, the repeatability of the product range and a focus on digitalisation (used for marketing purposes but also to save on personnel, one of the most sensitive issues in the eating out sector in the post-Covid era) are advantages offered by the chains, which translate into two winning aspects, especially with the younger generations: low prices, fundamental in a period of economic crisis, and the ability to respond quickly and effectively to the often very changeable desires of customers. But on the side of the chains there is also standardisation and ‘industrial’ safety of food and speed of service. They thus have a high customer turnover, functional and also often standardised furniture (but not always, as we shall see) and simple and effective service (but even here, there are exceptions). IT IS NOT ALL GOLD... It is precisely this flexibility, or ability to navigate between formats, capturing the trends of the moment, from sandwiches to poké, from pinsa to South American sushi, to toast and tacos, that is the strength but also the weakness of the segment, as demonstrated by the recent closures of two successful examples, which occurred in very different ways and at very different times: Panini Durini and Filetteria Italiana. But they are only the tip of the iceberg. Just think of the bankruptcy of Domino’s Italia. The case of Milan, a favourite ‘battleground’ for these formats, proves it. It is a continual opening of new stores, but there are also many supernovas that explode more or less silently and amid general indifference, often as a result of sometimes risky choices. The ‘queue phenomenon’ demonstrates this, and the Lombard capital is basically made like this: great enthusiasm welcomes the latest arrival but often the love disappears like snow in the sun. ITALIAN UNIQUENESS Will we end up like in America, with an endless panorama of approved diners and fast-food restaurants? In the long run, probably yes, but in Italy the situation is already more varied. Alongside the big players, both national and international, small national operators are emerging, which today count for more than a third of the network. An army of mini-chains made up of 600 groups or companies developing over 850 stores. Among them is FedeGroup, which, in addition to its hospitality business lines and the hotel management of leisure facilities and outsourced catering services for the hotellerie, oversees retail catering with the Golocious (hamburger), Baessato (restaurant and cocktail bar), Artisti del Vegetariano (vegetarian takeaway) and Feeling Pizza brands. “From an operational point of view, having a network of restaurants in the same territory allows us to optimise management by maximising operational efficiency, from the dining room and kitchen staff to a network of diversified and consolidated suppliers. All