How do large-scale retail chains build their offerings? It’s not simply a matter of logistics or choosing the most competitively priced labels: the wine selection in large-scale retail is a true strategic lever, where margins, brand identity, consumption trends, and loyalty are intertwined. Every bottle on the shelves responds to a precise logic.
How many wines and which wines?
The first issue is selection. The average consumer doesn’t want to be confronted with hundreds of confusing products: they seek clarity, reference points, and intuitive selection paths. Retailers have learned to respond to this need with increasingly refined segmentation.
Alongside a base of large brands and recognizable denominations – the so-called “common trunk” – there is a growing presence of value-added wines: organic, biodynamic, native grape varieties, sustainable production, and territorial selections.
Circana’s 2024 data confirms this trend: volumes are down (-3.4%), but value is up slightly (+0.8%). This signals that the game is no longer about quantity, but rather the ability to promote products with a clear identity, even at a higher price.
The common trunk and local roots
Every supermarket in Italy offers a stable core of common products, helping to ensure continuity and recognition. But more and more retailers are focusing on local customization.
A store in Milan will have a different selection than one in Bari or Turin, not only due to regional differences but also to adapt to the socio-demographic profile of the neighborhood.
This modulation helps reinforce the perception of a “thought-out” and non-standardized assortment, increasing loyalty and creating a stronger bond between the customer and the brand.
The risk of excessive references
Is having too many labels on the shelf really an advantage? Not always. Too broad an assortment creates confusion, makes the selection process more complex, and can slow down sell-out.
The American model, which favors leaner but more select assortments, is also becoming a source of inspiration for Italian large-scale retail trade.
The real challenge is finding the right balance: offering enough variety to meet the customer’s key needs, without wasting attention and value. More space for the right products, less wasted on redundant labels.
Large-scale retail trade as director of the assortment
The wine on the shelves of large-scale retail outlets isn’t simply a catalog made available to consumers, but the result of precise category management decisions. Each selected label helps guide tastes, shape the perception of value, and direct market dynamics.
The most advanced chains have understood this: the assortment is not just a showcase, but a tool for expressing identity, promoting local areas, and capturing new consumer trends. In the future, we will see increasingly refined strategies, capable of combining standardization and customization, quality and sustainability, in a wine market that demands clarity but also innovation.
