Mercadona

Mercadona is the leading Spanish supermarket chain which was founded in 1977 by the Carnicas Roig group. The group took its origins from a small butcher shop and has evolved to 1645 supermarkets operating in Spain and 29 in Portugal. Mercadona also runs an online shop as well as a mobile app.

The store size averages between 1300-1500 sqm and Mercadona emphasizes the "Always Low Prices" concept. Presently, the firm occupies 13.5% of Spain’s total food retail space.

A total of 5.5 million households were reported to purchase at Mercadona. 1.2 million orders were received on its online store.

Training is also provided to its employees. So far, 953 people have been promoted.

Mercadona employs 95 500 people, including 2300 for its stores in Portugal. In 2020, the business achieved a turnover of €26.7 billion. 

The retailer offers a wide assortment of products under the following categories:

• Sweet Grocery: tea, infusions, biscuits, cereals, etc.
• Savory Grocery: chips, crisps, pasta, etc.
• Frozen Food: ready-meals, poultry, pork, etc.
• Chilled & Fresh Food: charcuterie, fruits, vegetables, etc.
• Dairy: yoghurt, cheese, eggs, milk, butter, etc.
• Drinks: wine, soft drinks, mineral water, etc.
• Personal Care: hair care, skincare, face care, etc.
• Household: laundry care, disinfectant detergent, etc.

Some of the brands available are Elena, Bonito Del Norte, Chatka, etc.

The fact that Mercadona keeps up with trends has been a contributing factor to the increasing productivity. Hence since 2013, the company has started to develop free-from products.

As gluten-free products were quite rare in Spain, the company went on to create a whole gluten-free line at competitive prices.

Mercadona also became the first retailer in Spain to sell BAP certified seafood products in its stores. 

Moreover, Mercadona’s fish is considered as the best on the market as the firm collaborated with CSIC to ameliorate the safety and quality of its fishery products.

In 2020, Mercadona introduced a cosmetics brand, Deliplus, which offers facial oil on the market. The company launched the Hacendado Tofu Cream, of which more than 1600 tubs are sold daily.

An innovation centre was established in the same year in Lisbon in order to get acquainted with the preferences of the local consumer and develop new products.

Furthermore, it launched a disinfectant spray with 70% alcohol.

Mercadona works with 1400 totaler suppliers, 2387 commercial service suppliers as well as 13 000 SMEs and raw material suppliers. 

Pertaining to logistics, Mercadona owns an automated distribution center in Madrid where the orders are tracked and 12 other distribution centers as well.

Also, the company invested €35 million to expand its logistics block and a new warehouse of 36 700 sqm was built in 2021.

Mercadona has been extending its online delivery service and has also been continuously injecting funds to renovate many of its stores.  It also owns chargeable delivery vehicles.

As of August 2018, Mercadona decided to stop using plastic bags and use paper bags. Through this action, the firm fulfills its commitment of moving towards a sustainable business. 

209 000 tons of CO2 emissions were saved and €47 million were invested in environmental protection. Moreover, 20 000 Kg of products were donated to the Food Bank of Valladolid and 32 other foundations.

The retailer also bought land which has an area of 25 668 m2, of which 14 650 m2 will be used to open a new online warehouse which is currently in construction.

In 2022, Mercadona raised its employees wage by 6.5%.

Mercadona's online shop can be found on www.mercadona.es