Spanish retailer Mercadona has announced plans to open ten new stores in Portugal’s south-central region, in locations including Sintra, Vila Franca de Xira, Torres Vedras, Gondomar, Marco de Canaveses, Lousada and Figueira da Foz.
To date, the retailer has opened 39 outlets in Portugal.
The company opened its first shop in Portugal in 2019, and since then has grown at the rate of ten new outlets per year.
Its most recent openings were in Setúbal, Montijo, Santarém, Caldas da Rainha and Oeiras – all located in the south-central region.
Lisbon Focus
Additionally, the company plans to focus on the district of Lisbon, although the opening of a store in Portugal’s capital is not currently on the agenda.
Mercadona will also open a training centre in Lisbon, the company’s second such facility, along with its centre in Matosinhos.
Construction work will also continue in 2023, on the company’s new logistics base in Almeirim.
In an interview with Dinheiro Vivo, Mercadona’s director of institutional relations, Inês Santos, refused to divulge the retailer’s current market share and sales volume in Portugal, although she did reveal that, in 2021, the share was 3%.
Cost Savings
Separately, Mercadona announced that it managed to save over €150 million in 2022, thanks to the launch of an IT tool in which it invested more than €5 million.
Thanks to the new app, the heads of the various departments involved in the supply chain can access information on sales, purchase prices, costs and profitability of the 8,000 products that make up Mercadona’s assortment in Portugal and Spain.
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
