The tobacco market in Italy

A tobacconist , or rather a tobacco shop, is a store that sells tobacco-related products and accessories. Tobacconists have always been, and continue to be, a specialty business, which means that a regular tobacconist must know the skills necessary for any small store, such as inventory and account management, as well as other basic business operations. A tobacco shop sells a variety of tobacco products, including cigarettes. However, some tobacconists choose not to stock mass market brands or even cigarettes, preferring to focus on finer items such as cigars, pipe tobaccos, and snuff.

it's difficult to estimate the amount of monetary value tobacco shops around the world have, but its most valuable product, legal tobacco, has been estimated to be worth about $818 billion in 2019. The largest global tobacco category remains combustible cigarettes. it is estimated that the size of the tobacco market will be worth USD 1,073 billion by 2028 with a CAGR of 1.8%

In Italy, the State has identified tobacconists as the places to exclusively entrust the retail sale of tobacco products; there is a law preventing more than one tobacconist's shop per 1,500 inhabitants. The number of tobacco shops registered in Italy, actively operating in 2017 was 54,319; municipalities with at least one tobacco shop represent about 95% of all Italian municipalities, thus confirming the widespread presence of tobacco shops throughout the country. Tobacconists have been qualified not only in the sale of tobacco but also in the provision of public gaming and community activities such as the payment of taxes and bills. To operate as a tobacconist in Italy, you must first obtain a license and then wait for the authorization according to the territorial distribution present. If you simply want to buy the license, it can cost up to 100,000 euros.

In recent years, the market has undergone important changes accompanied by the development of new product categories, which have also had a strong impact on the activities of operators in the sector. These include the introduction of electric cigarettes, vaporizers and heated tobacco cigarettes, such as the famous "Iqos"brand.