Milan, 15 Nov. (LaPresse) – Fewer businesses, fewer young people. The business landscape in the retail and catering sectors continues to age, and the number of new businesses set up has halved over the past 15 years: between 2019 and 2025, the average age of owners and partners rose from 49.2 to 52.4 years, an increase of more than three years compared with the pre-pandemic period, and in many regions and sectors it now exceeds 54 years. This is what emerges from Confesercenti’s analysis of data relating to retail and catering businesses, updated to 31 December 2025. Confesercenti emphasises that this is a widespread phenomenon, with ageing affecting both sectors. In the retail sector, the average age of owners and partners has risen from 50 to 53.1 years, whilst in the catering sector it has risen from 47.7 to 51 years. Bookshops and stationery shops have the highest average age, at 54.7 years – over three and a half years older than in 2019. These are followed by clothing and footwear shops, where the average age stands at 53.9 years, compared with 50.6 six years earlier.
Retail: average age of shop and restaurant owners rises to 52.4 years
Milan, 15 Nov. (LaPresse) – Fewer businesses, fewer young people. The business landscape in the retail and catering sectors continues to age, and the number of new businesses set up has halved over the past 15 years: between 2019 and 2025, the average age of owners and partners rose from 49.2 to 52.4 years, an increase of more than three years compared with the pre-pandemic period, and in many regions and sectors it now exceeds 54 years. This is what emerges from Confesercenti’s analysis of data relating to retail and catering businesses, updated to 31 December 2025. Confesercenti emphasises that this is a widespread phenomenon, with ageing affecting both sectors. In the retail sector, the average age of owners and partners has risen from 50 to 53.1 years, whilst in the catering sector it has risen from 47.7 to 51 years. Bookshops and stationery shops have the highest average age, at 54.7 years – over three and a half years older than in 2019. These are followed by clothing and footwear shops, where the average age stands at 53.9 years, compared with 50.6 six years earlier.