Spanish retailer Consum has reported a 13.6% increase in sales, to €4.39 billion, in its 2023 financial year.
Commenting on the cooperative’s performance, director general Antonio Rodríguez Lázaro praised Consum’s effort to be as competitive as possible when it comes to pricing, which has “helped us grow customers, and therefore increase sales.”
Online sales, which are available in the 431 municipalities in which the retailer has a presence, went up by 10%, to €73.6 million, representing 1.7% of overall sales.
Volume sales at the business went up by 6.5%, it added, which is ahead of the overall Spanish market. Consum’s current market share in Spain stands at 4.6% – a 0.1-percentage-point gain on the previous year.
New-Store Openings
During the year, the group invested €167.3 million in its operations, with the opening of 67 new supermarkets – 15 under the Consum banner, and 52 Charter stores – and the renovation of 19 outlets.
This brings its total network to 933 outlets, of which 485 are company owned and 448 are franchised under the Charter banner, located in Valencia, Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia, Andalusia and Aragon.
In the current year, Consum plans to ‘maintain its current pace of openings,’ it noted, with 50 more supermarkets planned – 15 Consum and 35 Charter – as well as 27 refurbishments.
Growing The Workforce
Consum’s workforce also grew in 2023, with the cooperative creating 1,879 new jobs, meaning that its total workforce has now grown to 21,216. This equates to a 9.7% increase, year on year.
In addition, the Spanish group has generated 43,162 indirect jobs, it noted, mainly within its supply chain and service networks.
Some 98.6% of the purchases that it made for its stores last year were from national suppliers, with 67% coming from the autonomous communities in which it has a presence, and 80% of the fresh food on offer in its stores is of Spanish origin.
