Carrefour’s long exit from Italy finally enters its most concrete phase. After months of negotiations and indiscretions, the official move to NewPrinces, an Italian group led by Angelo Mastrolia, has become operational with the green light from the European Commission. From this moment on, Carrefour Italia changes its skin: it takes the name of Princes Retail and begins a transformation which, within three years, will lead to the return of a historic brand, GS, known and remembered by generations of consumers.
This is a step that affects the entire supply chain, from the way supermarkets will be organized to commercial relationships with suppliers. And precisely from here comes the first real shock of the new management: the immediate request for lower prices, sent a few hours after the closing of the operation.
But let’s recap what happened for those who hadn’t followed the story.
Why Carrefour is leaving Italy and who is taking its place
The Italian branch of the French group Carrefour had been in difficulty for years. Despite various restructuring attempts, cost cuts and changes in strategy, the results were not good: declining turnover, increasingly thinner margins and growing difficulty in competing with discounters and the Italian chains more deeply rooted in the area. Added to this was a network of points of sale that was often dated and very expensive to manage.
Faced with a now unsustainable situation, Carrefour has decided to leave Italy and start the search for a buyer capable of taking over and relaunching the entire network. The solution arrived with NewPrinces, the Italian group of the Mastrolia family, which completed the purchase of the entire branch.
With the sale, more than a thousand points of sale – including hypermarkets, supermarkets, local shops and cash & carry – will thus come under Italian control.
NewPrinces is aiming for a strong relaunch. The objective is to transform the company into a large integrated production-distribution hub, capable of exceeding seven billion in turnover by 2027. The return of the historic GS brand, which will progressively replace the Carrefour brand, is part of this strategy: bringing back to light a name familiar to Italians, modernizing it and making it the new face of the chain.
What will change in the coming months
With the new name Princes Retail the most delicate phase begins: the internal reorganization and renovation of the stores. The operation will be accompanied by a 437.5 million euro relaunch plan, financed by both NewPrinces and Carrefour. The funds will be used to modernize the points of sale, strengthen logistics and improve services such as home deliveries and supplies for the HoReCa sector.
In the meantime, the Carrefour brand will not disappear immediately but will remain for a transitional period, while Princes Retail will gradually begin to replace it with the GS brand. The complete transformation will take approximately three years.
The first move of the new management: “Lower prices are needed”
The change does not only concern the surface of supermarkets but goes to the heart of commercial relationships. NewPrinces, in fact, sent suppliers a letter that marks a real change of pace compared to the past. In the document, anticipated by Corriere della Sera, the group clearly speaks of a “context of strong deflation” and asks for an immediate adjustment of the price lists. In other words, it asks suppliers to review prices downwards as early as 2026.
The request is accompanied by a tight deadline: companies must submit updated commercial proposals by 15 December 2025. According to NewPrinces, the objective is to align economic conditions with the current market phase, ensuring continuity of supplies and greater competitiveness on the shelves. This will probably be one of the most delicate issues to handle.
The exit of Carrefour and the arrival of Princes Retail marks one of the most profound transformations of Italian large-scale retail trade in recent years. For consumers it could translate into renovated stores, more efficient services and – at least in the intentions – lower prices on the shelves.
