Conad Nord Ovest has received approval from the Italian Competition Authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) for the acquisition of General and its affiliated companies, owners of the PiùMe network. The authorization, which arrived without any requirements, now allows the parties to proceed with the closing and begin the operational phase of the integration.
The operation includes 260 stores specializing in home care and personal care, spread across nine regions: Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont, Trentino-Alto Adige, Lazio, Tuscany, and Veneto. The logistics and management centers in Querceta, in the province of Lucca, are also included.
The acquired network generates revenues of approximately €190 million and has over 810 active loyalty cards. These figures allow Conad Nord Ovest to enter a specialized channel with a significant critical mass, characterized by high purchase frequency.
The business will remain separate from Conad's operations. The PiùMe brand, organization, and operational structure will remain unchanged, and all store and headquarters employees will remain employed. The collaboration with the Tognetti family will also continue. The transaction will not affect General's relationships with other companies that use the PiùMe brand in different parts of the country.
The decision to preserve the format's autonomy allows Conad Nord Ovest to acquire specific expertise without diluting the brand's positioning. PiùMe will therefore continue to operate as a specialized chain, while benefiting from the resources and investment capacity of the new shareholder.
The entry into drugstores is part of Conad Nord Ovest's 2025-2027 Strategic Plan, built around specialization, multichannel capabilities, and diversification. The goal is to expand the scope of services and capture spending increasingly distributed across formats, channels, and consumption occasions.
