Eurospin overtakes Esselunga: revenue of 9,59 billion versus 9,53
Eurospin overtakes Esselunga: revenue of 9,59 billion versus 9,53
- Information
A burst of acceleration in Gdo. The revenues of Eurospin, the most aggressive discounter, exceed those of benchmark retailer Esselunga. The margin overtake, however, had already been achieved in the post-pandemic period.
In 2025, Eurospin achieved a value of production of 9,59 billion euros against 9,53 billion for Esselunga. The discounter’s margin (sales/EBITDA) is 7,9% against 7,6% for the Milan-based chain. Over the last 5 years, the average margin has been 8,2% in favour of the former, compared with 6,8% for the chain owned by the Caprotti family.
The Intelligent Spending reached its peak (almost 9%) in 2018, only to decline by a few decimal points each year thereafter. These are economic and financial parameters applied to two different businesses (superstore and discount), but they reflect social changes and the evolution of the brand.
Two speeds
The gap between the two players, in terms of turnover, is around 60 million, but will presumably widen by the end of the current year: over the last 2020 years, Eurospin (with no brand at 8,2%) has increased its revenues by an average of 500 million per financial year, mainly thanks to the boost from new openings (30-40 per year). Esselunga (closely tied to its brand), by contrast, has advanced slowly: an average of +200 million per year.
Over the last five years, La Spesa intelligente has achieved net profits of 1,9 billion. Esselunga stood at 669 million.
In 2025, Eurospin’s market share was 7,5%, ahead of Lidl (6,1%), MD (3,2%) and Aldi (0,8%). Esselunga’s, as recorded by Nielsen, rose from 7,4% to 7,2%. In that earlier year, it was at the same level.
Sales champion per square metre
Esselunga, the superstore giant, is the player with the highest revenues per square metre and will remain so for a long time, given the gap: more than 16.000 euros. Eurospin is a long way behind: 7.857 euros.
The discounter has no bank debt and indeed boasts financial resources of 730 million, while Esselunga has net debt of 1,6 billion.
And today? The president of Eurospin, Daniele Mion, stated that “the first few months of 2026 have shown favourable performance. The aim is to continue growing both on a like-for-like basis and through new openings.” Meanwhile, the Fiuggi, Boario Terme and Bellante (Teramo) stores are opening today; on 1 October, Busto Arsizio; on 8 October, Sesto San Giovanni, Guidonia (Rome) and Civita Castella (Viterbo).
For Esselunga, the first half of 2026 recorded sales of 4,786 billion, +1,3% compared with the corresponding period of 2025. But we must await the official arrival, in November, of CEO Claude Sarrailh to understand what the new strategy will be.
Other articles:
Eurospin exceeds 9 billion in turnover. Ready to enter Serbia
This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.
