Italy’s Alì Closes Stores On Sundays To Save Electricity Bills
Italian grocery retail group Alì has opted to close its stores on Sundays and holidays in order to save on energy bills.
In addition, the supermarket group, mainly located in the Veneto region, is increasing the production of renewable energy, using heat produced by refrigerators to heat sanitary water, rolling out photovoltaic systems and switching to LED lamps, allowing to cut consumption by half.
Speaking to daily Corriere del Veneto, company VP Gianni Canella pointed out that Ali has made a lot of efforts to curb price increases due to high energy prices, rising industrial prices and expensive transportation, to cushion the effects on customers’ purchasing capacity.
Savings from the Sunday store closures is likely to have a limited effect, as refrigerators, which are the highest source of electricity consumption, cannot be turned off.
In fact, turning off refrigeration even for a short period, would put consumers at risk as it would affect the cold chain, accelerating the deterioration process of refrigerated and frozen food. Frozen foods in supermarkets must always be kept at very low temperatures (below -18 degrees Celsius), otherwise the partial thawing of the food would make it no longer safe and suitable for consumption. The costs of refrigerators therefore are defined as non-compressible costs since their presence must always be guaranteed.
In addition, there is also the problem of competition: if rivals stay open, the risk by closing is losing customers.
According to Federdistribuzione’s communications director, Marco Magli, bills for food retailers have increased fourfold, while their incidence has gone up from 1.5% to 6%, for a sector that has low margins, of around 1.5%.
Related news
Italian cured meat business Trinità acquired by local investor
Fondo Italiano d’Investimento said it will aim to consolidate Trinità’s…
Read more >The animal farm development program continues
With a total budget of HUF 200 billion, two new…
Read more >A criminal group dealing in fake and illegal plant protection products and fertilizers has been busted in Romania and Italy
A criminal group was involved in the illegal trade of…
Read more >Related news
A Hungarian specialist became Danone’s Eastern and Central European sales manager
From this July, Enikő Bolyós organizes and manages the company’s…
Read more >Recent research: almost half of Hungarians do not use sun protection cream, and moreover, they do not avoid the sun in the midday hours either
According to a recent, representative research, only 8 percent of…
Read more >The GVH fined Booking almost HUF 400 million with a record fine
Booking did not fully fulfill its obligations requiring the termination…
Read more >