Standa

Standa was an Italian retail brand whose history covered department stores, general merchandise, and supermarkets. The business began in 1931 under the name Magazzini Standard, or Società Anonima Magazzini Standard. It was established by a former executive of the Italian retailer UPIM and later adopted the name Standa, an acronym derived from Società Tutti Articoli Nazionali Dell’Abbigliamento. The renamed chain developed as a broad-based retailer serving Italian consumers with multiple categories of merchandise rather than operating solely as a specialist store. By 1966, when Standa was acquired by the diversified Italian industrial group Montedison, the chain had 126 branches across Italy. The acquisition placed a large national retail network within a wider corporate group and marked an important stage in Standa’s expansion and institutional development. In July 1988, Standa was acquired by Silvio Berlusconi through Fininvest. Under Fininvest, the business remained a prominent Italian retail operation, but its later restructuring reflected financial pressures affecting the group. In 1998, Fininvest sold Standa’s non-food stores to Coin. This transaction separated the department-store and general-merchandise activities from the supermarket business. The following year, in 1999, the grocery chain was dismantled and its stores were sold according to geography: locations in northern Italy went to the German REWE Group, while stores in southern Italy were sold to the Italian cooperative retailer Conad. The geographic division effectively ended Standa as an integrated national retail chain. The Standa name continued to have a life in parts of the grocery business after the 1999 break-up. REWE became the official owner of the Standa trademark and operated supermarkets using the Standa/Billa identity. In 2009, REWE rebranded its supermarkets as Billa, further reducing the visible presence of the Standa name. REWE also opened a Standa store in Cologne, Germany, but that location closed in 2017. In 2014, REWE sold its Standa/Billa supermarket chain to the French retailer Carrefour. The available reference material does not establish a current operating Standa chain or a current independent corporate entity using the brand. Standa is therefore best understood as a defunct or discontinued retail chain whose stores, activities, and brand rights were absorbed or rebranded through successive transactions.

Standa originated in Italy in 1931 as Magazzini Standard, formally Società Anonima Magazzini Standard. Its founder was a former executive of UPIM. The business was conceived as a broad retail operation and later adopted the name Standa, formed as an acronym for Società Tutti Articoli Nazionali Dell’Abbigliamento. Over time, the chain operated department stores and supermarkets offering a mixture of apparel, food, household goods, and general merchandise. The company reached a significant scale before its acquisition by Montedison in 1966. At that point it reportedly had 126 branches throughout Italy. The transaction linked a nationwide consumer-retail network to one of Italy’s major industrial groups. Standa remained a recognizable retail name for the following decades and continued to operate across multiple product categories. In July 1988, Silvio Berlusconi acquired Standa through Fininvest. The retailer later became part of a restructuring process associated with financial difficulties at the group. In 1998, Fininvest separated the business by selling Standa’s non-food stores to Coin. The transaction removed the department-store and general-merchandise component from the remaining grocery operation. The grocery chain was then broken up in 1999. Stores in northern Italy were sold to REWE Group, while stores in southern Italy were sold to Conad. This geographical division ended Standa’s operation as a unified Italian chain. REWE retained the Standa trademark and continued to use the Standa/Billa identity in its supermarket activities. In 2009, REWE rebranded those supermarkets as Billa. REWE also operated a Standa-branded store in Cologne, Germany, but the location closed in 2017. In 2014, REWE sold its Standa/Billa supermarket chain to Carrefour. The supplied references do not document a continuing standalone Standa retail operation after these transactions and rebrandings. The brand is consequently associated primarily with the historical Italian chain and with the assets and store networks that passed to Coin, REWE, Conad, and later Carrefour-related operations.

• 2017

  Cologne store closes

  [1]Standaen.wikipedia.org

  A Standa store operated by REWE in Cologne closed.

• 2014

  REWE sells Standa/Billa chain to Carrefour

  [1]Standaen.wikipedia.org

  REWE sold its Standa/Billa supermarket chain to Carrefour.

• 2009

  Supermarkets rebranded as Billa

  [1]Standaen.wikipedia.org

  REWE rebranded its Standa supermarkets under the Billa name.

• 1999

  Grocery chain divided by geography

  [1]Standaen.wikipedia.org

  Northern Italian grocery stores went to REWE Group and southern Italian stores went to Conad.

• 1998

  Non-food business sold to Coin

  [1]Standaen.wikipedia.org

  Fininvest sold Standa’s non-food stores to Coin as part of a restructuring process.

• 1988

  Acquisition by Fininvest

  [1]Standaen.wikipedia.org

  Silvio Berlusconi acquired Standa through Fininvest in July.

• 1966

  Acquisition by Montedison

  [1]Standaen.wikipedia.org

  Montedison acquired Standa when the chain had 126 branches across Italy.

• 1931

  Business founded as Magazzini Standard

  [1]Standaen.wikipedia.org

  The retail business was established in Italy as Magazzini Standard, or Società Anonima Magazzini Standard.

A broad-based Italian mass-market retailer combining department-store and supermarket formats, with a national store network and merchandise spanning food, apparel, household goods, and other general categories.

• Department stores

  Standa department stores

  The original Standa retail format was a department-store operation carrying a broad selection of consumer goods. Its non-food assortment included apparel and general merchandise, while the stores formed part of a national Italian branch network. The format was separated from the grocery business when Fininvest sold the non-food stores to Coin in 1998.

• Supermarkets

  Standa supermarkets

  Standa supermarkets represented the grocery side of the chain. After the 1999 break-up, northern Italian locations passed to REWE Group and southern locations to Conad. REWE later used the Standa/Billa identity before rebranding its supermarkets as Billa in 2009.

• 2009

  Rebranding from Standa to BillaStrategy

  Background

  REWE controlled the Standa trademark and operated the acquired supermarket activities under the Standa/Billa identity.

  Action taken

  REWE rebranded its Standa supermarkets as Billa.

  Aftermath

  The Standa name ceased to be the principal customer-facing identity for those supermarkets.

  Source

• 1999

  Geographic sale of grocery storesM&A

  Background

  Following the disposal of the non-food stores, the grocery operation was divided rather than retained as a single national chain.

  Action taken

  Northern Italian stores were sold to REWE Group and southern Italian stores were sold to Conad.

  Aftermath

  The transaction ended Standa’s unified national retail operation.

  Source

• 1998

  Sale of non-food stores to CoinM&A

  Background

  Fininvest undertook a restructuring of Standa during a period described in the reference material as involving financial difficulties.

  Action taken

  The non-food stores were sold to Coin, separating the department-store and general-merchandise activities from the grocery chain.

  Aftermath

  The remaining grocery business was subsequently dismantled and sold geographically in 1999.

  Source

1. 1Standaen.wikipedia.org