Abstract

The evolution of the socio-economic scenario towards the experiential economy has led to changes in the performance/behaviour and structure both of firms and consumers. Especially in Italy, the modernisation of distribution has taken place together with an intense process of concentration in every retail market. In particular in the grocery market, distribution is no longer only a marketing mix thrust of a firm but a highly competitive market. The main objective of the paper is to develop a conceptual model that draws the evolution of the Italian industry and distribution with respect to the consumption changes, starting from theoretical concepts driven from marketing, industrial economics and management. Moreover, this paper aims at analysing the strong interrelation between the distribution/firm and the point of purchase/ brand, that requires both the firm perspective in order to link the structural evolution of the firm to the development of the retail, and the consumer behaviour perspective, that fosters a model of concentration, whether spatial or not, to match the consumer needs.