The Italian retail sector (i.e., small local shops) is ripe for disruption. The shops pretty much just buy from wholesalers and provide some local inventory in

The Italian retail sector (i.e., small local shops) is ripe for disruption. The shops pretty much just buy from wholesalers and provide some local inventory in the shop. This usually comes with a high markup. Competition is highly regulated (e.g., sales can only happen during a certain time window each year, most places have a cap on the maximum discount, returns are close to non-existent). I am not sure what other value they add to the retail experience beyond maybe having a relationship with the shopkeeper and going in to shoot the shit while buying stuff. I'm not surprised that something like Amazon is able to disrupt the system. Even my parents have started buying stuff on Amazon instead of going to the store and they barely use a credit card. I'm also not surprised that the retail guild/cartel is pushing back through legal means. It will be interesting to see what will happen. My guess is that the Italian consumer will end up losing at the end and will have to pay more for stuff from Amazon.