Liguria, in sei anni 3mila imprese al dettaglio in meno e 443 milioni in fumo

In the past six years, the Liguria region has lost nearly 3,000 retail businesses and a staggering 443 million euros in revenue. This figure is detailed in a study conducted by the Confesercenti association, which examined data from 2019 to 2025. The association notes a widespread contraction of companies, reflecting not only national trends but also unique local dynamics, such as the closure of autonomous activities and the rise in dependent work, signaling a profound structural change.

Over six years, the association reports that over 111,000 retail businesses across Italy and 2,952 in Liguria have disappeared, representing an 11.8% reduction in the regional total and a loss of wealth estimated at 443 million euros from Sarzana to Ventimiglia. The report reveals that the total number of retail companies has been declining across the entire Liguria region, indicating a generalized difficulty within the sector.

Nationwide, retail businesses in major cities have seen a 14.3% decline, while those in provinces have dropped by 13.4%, with the Northwest region experiencing a -12.3% decrease. Within the Liguria provinces, La Spezia has been hit hardest, with a 16.4% loss of businesses, and Genoa a 16.9% loss in the capital alone, both figures worse than the national average. Savona follows with a 14.8% decrease in the province and a 12.5% loss in the capital.

Genoa and Imperia show a relatively stable situation, with Genoa contracting by 9.9% province-wide and 9.4% in the capital, and Imperia seeing a 11.2% loss regionally and a 6.4% decline in the capital. The overall reduction in businesses has impacted employment, although the structure has shifted towards larger companies and chains hiring more employees, without compensating for the loss of small independent shop jobs. The net effect remains negative in terms of both development and employment.

Contrary to trends in Italy and the Northwest, where overall employment in city centers has grown (+1% and +3.4% respectively), all Liguria city centers have experienced a negative trend in total employment: La Spezia (-12.5%), Imperia (-5.4%), Genoa (-3.9%), and Savona (-3.7%). When examining the entire provinces, there is a notable increase in dependent workers across most of Liguria, with Imperia leading at +13.5% province-wide, followed by Genoa (+5.4%) and La Spezia (+3.8%). Only Savona shows a slight decline (-0.8%).

Massimiliano Spigno, president of Confesercenti Genova, emphasizes that the retail sector is undergoing a profound crisis, requiring structural and radical interventions from the legislature to compete fairly with large retailers and online platforms. The organization does not seek preferential treatment but calls for restoring a balanced situation, as they are tired of being treated merely as a cash machine and even more reluctant to disappear.