In recent months, several industry publications — from Gdoweek to Distribuzione Moderna, up to TGCOM24 and the official announcements — have reported on Unieuro’s new strategy. The 2025–2030 plan includes the transformation of stores into Service Solution Hubs, with investments exceeding €250 million, around 30 new openings, and the goal of tripling EBIT by 2030. This is not just a simple restyling, but a change of business model, from product margins to recurring revenues generated by high-value services.

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Why it really matters

In Italian retail, product margins are increasingly under pressure, driven by online competition and growing price sensitivity. Shifting services to account for even just 10% more of the gross margin can mean a GMROI increase between 15% and 20% and an investment payback in under 24 months. This transformation is not only technical, it is socio-technical. It requires a solid omnichannel CRM, the operational use of artificial intelligence for forecasting, recommendations and workforce planning, and lean processes.

The key KPIs become four: share of services on gross margin, post-service conversion, NPS and rent-to-sales. The latter, kept under 12–13%, is essential to ensure that rental costs remain sustainable compared to the revenue generated by the store.

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My experience

In my experience, high-margin services have been a decisive driver of growth for both margins and EBIT. Success did not depend solely on the quality of the service, but on the execution strategy, designed and shared with the whole organization and especially with the retail team.

The key factors that made the difference were clear and constant internal communication, advanced use of the CRM to deeply profile customers and personalize offers, targeted communication with high perceived-value proposals, team involvement in the objectives, incentive programs for the sales force, and the creation of a dedicated KPI Program, monitored and shared.

With this approach, for services such as hardware and software protection, attach rates close to 90% were achieved, resulting in significant increases in margin and EBIT.

The effects were clear: higher average basket value, stronger loyalty and increased visit frequency. All made possible by the spread of a data-driven culture at all levels, which turned KPIs into daily tools for performance and growth.

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My vision

The “Service Hub” model expresses its full potential when three tracks align.
First, the Service & Data P&L, with one revenue line for services and one for retail media, measured incrementally and transparently.
Second, artificial intelligence supporting operations, capable of forecasting demand, suggesting actions to staff, and planning shifts based on real peak hours.
Third, the teams, with the Store Manager as the director of performance and the involvement of the whole staff in a data-driven culture, where everyone knows how they contribute to the customer experience and the increase in margins. This is where digital transformation and economic growth meet.

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What to do right now
Define four non-negotiable KPIs: service share, post-service conversion, NPS, CRM consent rate.
Launch a 120-day pilot in three stores with clear SLAs and service price list.
Activate weekly business reviews and one monthly review to identify best practices and scale only what proves impactful.

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As always, the difference will be made by execution and the creation of a truly data-driven culture.

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Giacomo Guida - Executive Consultant | C-Level Strategy | Business Growth & Retail Transformation

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Fonti: Gdoweek (08/07/2025), Distribuzione Moderna (08/07/2025), TGCOM24 (11/07/2025), LinkedIn Unieuro (luglio 2025).