NaturaSi is still in the lead in the organic market

Picture: NaturaSì in Rome

Among the new stores are the first one in Ferrara/Emilia Romagna, and more stores for Rome and Bari. In Rome alone, the Veronese company  now has 8 stores. With a turnover of 60 million euros in 2006 and forecast growth of 15 % in 2007, the company can view the future with confidence.

(All pictures are of one store in Rome)

The long-standing, successful collaboration between the marketing company Ecor and NaturaSi led to a merger in 2006. Each became minority shareholders in each other’s company. Their common aims are: to strengthen the retail trade through structured and intensive collaboration; to stabilise the industry and to raise the quality of products even further. Purchasing and quality control were, for example, amalgamated.

By 2006, the company was present only in northern and central Italy. This state of affairs changed when the first store in Palermo in southern Italy opened its doors. In the meantime, the chain has spread over the whole country. On the 12th May a new, bigger store was opened in Turin. It is located at one of the most important thoroughfares in the city and has good parking facilities for customers. Livorno now has a store too. The first NaturaSi supermarket in the city opened on 19th May - it has 290 m², of which 250 m² are retail space. On 25th May it was the turn of Portogruare and Alessandria and on the 31st May of Naples.

As early as 2000 NaturaSi got a foothold in the Spanish market and by now it has 4 stores in Madrid. If you analyse the situation in Spain, it is clear that the Spanish market has certainly still got a lot of potential. According to NaturaSi, the biggest problem the company faces when it wants to open stores is finding suitable locations. The company is currently searching for premises with enough space at affordable prices and with car parking for customers.

NaturaSi’s concept puts great value on the presentation of goods and on a pleasant, inviting sales ambience, involving lighting, relaxing colours, the friendliness of sales staff and service. The company strives for a high level of customer satisfaction. The design of the stores concentrates on the essentials; when fitting out the store, ecological and environmentally friendly materials are used. Product groups are clearly differentiated by means of large signs and the recognition of products and product groups is promoted by a colour-coded information system. The result is a store that appeals to customers. The product range is structured in such a way that customers can find what they looking for very quickly and make the most of the time they spend shopping.

Over 4000 products, both brand and NaturaSi own brand, occupy an average retail space of 250m² - 300 m². Where complete lines are stocked, especially mothers with small children benefit, but other people are very well catered for as well, such as allergy sufferers with their special needs, celiac patients and people with food intolerances. 

Other initiatives undertaken by the company are CarneSi , the Producer Association for Organic Meat amd Meat Products, BenessereSi, a centre for wellness and beauty, and NaturaSi Cucina Biologica (restaurants). NaturaSi guarantees lower prices, makes special offers and gives a discount if you have a customer card which you can obtain free of charge. Information on offers is sent out via a monthly newsletter. NaturaSi’s homepage is easy to read. As well as getting detailed information on the whole topic of organics, you can look for your nearest supermarket and find out lots of details of the work of the NaturaSi chain.

The customer magazine Informasi appears quarterly and has a circulation of around 50 000, depending on the season and the number of special events in the organic industry. NaturaSi was one of the 11 candidates for the prize “Impresa Ambiente 2006” with its Project Swaziland. This project is just one of the many social commitments that make NaturaSi outstanding.

Apart from the stores belonging to NaturaSi, there are only 50 organic stores in Italy with 150 m² - 200 m² of retail space and 30 with more than 200 m².

www.naturasi.it

19.07.2007