Mercadona Supermarket

About Mercadona supermarkets in Spain

Mercadona is a leading Spanish supermarket chain, founded in 1977 by Francisco Roig Ballester and Trinidad Alfonso Mocholi as a small butcher shop in Tavernes Blanques, Valencia. Under the leadership of CEO Juan Roig since 1981, it has grown to 1,618 stores across Spain and 61 in Portugal as of April 2025, round 150 on the Costa del Sol alone, making it a dominant player with a 28.2% market share in Spain’s food retail sector in 2024.


Key Features:
Business Model: Mercadona focuses on providing high-quality products at low prices, emphasizing customer satisfaction (referred to as “The Boss”). It offers a wide range of products, including food, household goods, personal care, and pet care, with a commitment to sustainability and efficiency. The company prioritizes private-label brands, which helps reduce costs and maintain quality.
Tienda 8 (Efficient Store Model): Introduced in 2016, this modernized store format incorporates advanced technology to optimize operations, enhance employee collaboration, and improve the shopping experience. By 2024, 85% of Mercadona’s Spanish stores and all Portuguese stores adopted this model, emphasizing sustainability and efficiency.
Online Shopping: Mercadona’s online platform and app allow customers to shop conveniently, with a minimum order of €50 and a €8.20 delivery fee. Deliveries are made in 1- or 2-hour time slots from 7:00 to 22:00, Monday to Saturday, using three-temperature vehicles to ensure freshness. The app includes features like product details, nutritional information, and customer service chat.
Sustainability and Social Responsibility: Mercadona supports initiatives like the “green campaign,” sourcing over 180,000 tonnes of Spanish potatoes annually, and collaborates with Food Banks through cash donation programs at checkouts. It also focuses on reducing packaging waste, saving €2.2 billion through efficient packaging practices.
Employment: With 110,000 employees (7,000 in Portugal), Mercadona is known for stable, quality jobs, offering an average salary of €2,100 and fostering long-term employment (average tenure of four years).
Operations and Innovation:
Mercadona was the first Spanish retailer to use barcodes, improving product tracking and checkout efficiency. It operates an automated distribution center near Madrid, utilizing robotic arms for manual tasks.
The company achieved a record profit of €1.4 billion in 2024, a 37% increase from the previous year, reflecting its strong market position.
Customer Experience:
Store Locator: Customers can find the nearest store via Mercadona’s website or app.
Product Range: Known for fresh, high-quality products, Mercadona provides recipes, tips, and product innovations to enhance customer experience.
Criticism: Some X posts highlight concerns about quality-to-price ratio, suggesting competitors may offer better value, and there have been isolated complaints about customer service, such as a 2025 incident in Leganés involving a cashier’s behavior.
Expansion and Future Plans:
Mercadona began expanding into Portugal in 2019, with its first store in Vila Nova de Gaia. CEO Juan Roig has expressed interest in entering Italy or France, potentially adapting the business model to compete in new markets.


For more details, visit Mercadona’s official website (www.mercadona.es) or check store locations and job opportunities at info.mercadona.es. If you have specific questions about locations, products, or services, let me know!