How In's Mercato built an internal pipeline of Store Managers
Network growth depends on having trained managerial talent ready when it's needed. With Skillvue, In's Mercato transformed talent management from reactive to predictive.
In's Mercato
Large-scale distribution - Hard Discount
€1.5B
4,200+
570+
Internal Mobility
The Company and The Context
In's Mercato is one of Italy's leading hard discount grocery chains, with €1.5 billion in revenue, over 4,200 employees, and a network of more than 570 stores. The company is in a phase of aggressive real estate expansion, with a new store opening plan that creates a clear operational constraint: without qualified Store Managers who are ready and fully aligned with the company culture, new stores risk underperforming. Network growth depends directly on having trained managerial talent available when it's needed.
The Structural Problem
In's Mercato is a fast-growing company. With over 570 stores and an active real estate development plan, the business faced an operational constraint that preceded any HR consideration.
Expansion held back by Store Manager shortage
An active new opening plan, but without qualified, ready, and culturally aligned managerial talent, every new store risks underperforming.
Store performance and return on investment
Every new opening is a significant investment: without the right Store Manager to lead it, that store doesn't reach its potential. Failing to identify high-value people in time means compromising profitability.
Dependence on external hiring
Chasing demand through external recruitment means higher costs, longer onboarding times, and a real risk of cultural mismatch, in a sector where finding experienced profiles is increasingly difficult.
Invisible talent across the network
No objective visibility into the skills of thousands of sales associates distributed across 570+ stores: decisions on potential were based on sales numbers and subjective perceptions.
Fragmented and non-comparable evaluations
Each store manager assessed with their own criteria, each area operated with different standards: two people with the same potential could have completely different career paths — not based on merit, but on geographic luck.
Reactive, not predictive talent management
Without structured visibility on internal potential, every key position to fill turned into an external recruitment process. A double cost: time and investment to recruit, plus the risk of losing unrecognized talent already in the company.
What needed to change
Gain a shared, objective reading of potential across the entire network: same criteria, same language, regardless of territory or individual manager
Build an internal pipeline of ready Store Managers: to support the opening plan without depending on an increasingly competitive and costly external market
Maximize store performance and return on investment in new openings: ensuring every store is led by a qualified, culturally aligned Store Manager
Anticipate key role needs months in advance: moving from an emergency-driven logic to a predictive talent planning capability
AI Assessment with Skillvue
Skillvue enabled a structured assessment based on the soft skill framework that In's had already built internally for the Store Manager profile.
Mobile-first assessment
~30 minutes from a smartphone, completed during paid working hours. 1,000 people involved across 570 stores.
Neutral baseline
Target population selected without prior high-potential nominations: sales associates with 18–48 months of tenure. An objective snapshot of real talent, not a confirmation of existing impressions.
Communication as an engagement lever
A paid activity, completed during working hours, and positioned as an investment in professional development. Not an exam, but an opportunity — with a direct impact on participation rates and positive perception of the entire project.
Key Metrics & Impact
Quantitative and qualitative outcomes of the Skillvue x In's Mercato project.
AI Assessments completed
across ~1,000 employees involved
Top Talent identified
Top 10% emerging from assessment
Role-Ready
~42 profiles ready for the role
In Development
~48 profiles in upskilling
47% and 53% refer to the 90 Top Talent identified
Completion Rate
Completion rate net of external causes (resignations, sick leave)
The Selection Funnel
"The project transformed talent management from reactive to predictive, directly linking people strategy to the expansion plan: every new opening can now count on an internal pipeline of ready candidates, rather than chasing demand in the external market."
Mirko Tortolano
HR Director — In's Mercato
Construction of internal talent pipeline
For the first time, In's has an objective map of potential across the network and can plan openings with the certainty of having qualified talent available.
From reactive to predictive
People development has been directly linked to the real estate expansion plan: the internal pipeline becomes a business asset that enables growth.
Significant cultural impact
Participants who attended in-person sessions returned to their stores sharing the experience, generating a positive ripple effect and a perception of meritocracy.
Internal mobility unlocked
The project opened not only vertical opportunities (sales associate → Store Manager) but also lateral moves across divisions, for example into logistics roles at distribution centers.
From internal development to integrated talent strategy
When the internal development assessment began delivering concrete, scalable results, the natural next step was extending it to external hiring — eliminating the gap between "who we're looking for" and "how we develop them."
Build a single, coherent cycle where every person, from day one, is assessed, guided, and developed with the same logic.
Same criteria and skills framework from hiring to development: new hires are assessed from day one with the same logic used to develop them
Assessment via WhatsApp: in grocery retail this isn't a convenience choice, it's a strategic one. It removes every barrier to access and drives completion rates that other tools can't match
Extending assessment to current Store Managers to identify profiles ready for the Area Manager role
Hiring, development, and training integrated into one continuous system. No longer separate processes, but a single talent strategy that works as a business asset
predictive accuracy
predictive validity