The US Department of Agriculture has praised the undisputed leadership position it holds Mercadona In the food distribution sector in Spain. “He is Cultural phenomenon», he even made a statement about the supermarket chain headed by Juan Roig … In its annual report “Food retailing in Spain 2025”published in November.
The official document, which he consulted ABCexplains that the Valencian company It tripled the sales of its main competitorCarrefour: It is defined not only as the first company in this sector, but as a real mass phenomenon within Spanish society. In its assessment of the market to guide exporters, Washington points out that Mercadona has been able to strengthen it thanks to an offer mainly dedicated to the national consumer with typical products and the weight of its own brands, especially farms.
The analysis conducted by the government headed by Donald Trump highlights that Spain is one of the European countries where private labels have the greatest weight, driven by consumers’ increasing interest in the quality-price ratio. According to the report, Spanish households allocate up to 44% of their budget to distributor-branded products, a context in which Mercadona is significantly strengthening ahead of the rest of its competitors.
The Department of Agriculture places Mercadona at the top of its distributor rankings, with estimated sales of $34.5 billion in 2024. The second is Carrefour with 12,000, followed by Lidl, Dia, Eroski, Alcampo, Consum, El Corte Inglés, Bonpreu and Ahorramás.
All this, the US administration confirms, in a context in which the Spanish food distribution sector is experiencing a crisis.Reappearance» With 244 new stores opening between January and April 2025, representing a 25% increase compared to the same period of the previous year, led by supermarkets, self-service stores and regional supermarket chains.
Likewise, it expects moderate sales growth in 2025, driven by the recovery of omnichannel strategies and the growing popularity of Healthy and convenient products. In addition, consumers are combining physical and online channels, preferring digital platforms for large purchases and in-person purchases of fresh produce.
A “highly fragmented” sector.
On the other hand, the report notes that the retail competitive landscape will remain “highly fragmented” for the remainder of the year. He believes that “the competitive environment is concentrated, with Mercadona maintaining its leadership, followed by Carrefour.” Thus, it expects economic uncertainty and declining disposable income to persist in the coming months, which will push consumers to focus on essential products and limit impulsive purchases, forcing retailers to maximize their efficiency to maintain margins.
“After a while High inflation“Spanish consumers are becoming more price conscious in their purchasing decisions and increasingly prefer stores close to their homes and discount stores that offer private label products at reasonable prices,” the report stated.
38.835 million euros in sales
Mercadona increased its combined sales by 9% in 2024, by 38.835 million euros. Of this total combined turnover, €37,057 million relates to business in Spain, and the remaining €1,778 million relates to business in Portugal.
In addition, it created 6,000 new jobs and reached a figure of 110,000 employees between Spain and Portugal, with which it shared 700 million euros in variable bonuses, i.e. 17% more. Likewise, salaries rose by 8.5%, more than five points compared to the CPI in Spain and Portugal.
For all these reasons, Mercadona had its best historical profitability data in 2024 by increasing its dividend Net profit 37%, amounting to 1,384 million euros, of which 180 million euros were the result of the management carried out in its treasury. Of this, 1,109 million (80%) were reinvested in the company and the remaining 275 million (20%) was distributed in the form of dividends.