If there is a recipe to succeed in the retailMercadona seems to have found her. In 2024, Juan Roig’s company invoiced more than 38.8 billion euros and increased its net profit by 37%. That’s not new. What is curious is to what extent this push is making gold to the company’s main suppliers. In recent months we have seen invest millionaire sums to expand its facilities and boast an EBIDTA (earnings before taxes) that grows at double digitbut an overall image was missing.
At last we have it.
An “industrial cluster”. Mercadona is not just any supermarket chain. And it is not for several reasons. The main one is that it is the one that Spanish families go to most. Your market share (at least in terms of value) around 30%significantly above other rivals established in the sector such as Carrefour or Lidl. There are those who even gives you a weight elderly.
The other reason why Mercadona stands out is its strategy, based on a formula in which the “short assortment”the commitment to ready-made dishes and the white label. The success of the Valencian chain can hardly be understood without brands such as Hacendado, Deliplus or Bosque Verde, which finished a large part of its shelves. The suppliers that help sustain this offer are so relevant that Mercadona itself speaks of a “industrial cluster”.
One question: How much do they earn? Recently Five Days An interesting question was asked: do we know how they evolve the income from Mercadona, but… And what about its suppliers? How are its “specialist suppliers”, the firms that allow the chain to offer a catalog dominated by its own brands, doing?
It is an interesting question because between both, Mercadona and suppliers, suppliers and Mercadona, such a close relationship has been created that many of the supply companies generate more than 50% of their business through the Valencian firm. That is to say, Mercadona is not only its main client but 50, 60, 70 or even (in some cases) more than 80% of its cash depends on it.
To clear up doubts Five Days consulted the 2024 financial reports deposited in the Commercial Registry by Mercadona’s 20 main suppliers. They are only a small part of the more than 2,000 “specialist suppliers and inter-suppliers” of the chain, but the weight they have in their offer is fundamental. The catalog of products that are marketed under banners such as Hacendado, Bosque Verde or Deliplus is largely indebted to them.
A percentage: 20%. The Commercial Registry leaves something curious to say: in 2024 the sales figure of Mercadona’s 20 largest suppliers exceeded 12,000 million euros, 18% more than in 2022. Not only that. Its aggregate profits also grew by 5% to exceed 360 million.
During the same period, Mercadona saw its turnover soar by 25%, a percentage that can be explained by price increases, but also by the opening of premisesthe increase in sales and your business share.
Going down to detail. Of course, not all of them have grown at the same pace nor do they manage the same levels of income from product sales. At the top are Casa Tarradellas, Incarlopsa, J García Carrión and Covap, with turnover that has exceeded 1,000 million euros. The four also saw their sales grow between 2022 and 2024 at a rate of between 12 and 29%.
The list continues (at least in terms of net turnover) Profand, Importaco, Jealsa, Entrepinares, Virto, Cerealto, Schreiber Foods, Delisano, Huevos Guillén, RNB Cosmticos, Alacant, SPB, Laboratorios Maverick and Hijos de Juan Pujante. The list is closed by Arrocería Pons, which registered 135 million euros.
“Very significant part”. The reports deposited by those twenty signatures in the Commercial Registry are interesting for another reason. Many not only report high volumes of income and an increase in billing in recent years (between 2022 and 2024). It is also made clear that a considerable part of these companies depend largely on Mercadona.
Not all of them provide the data, but among those that do, there are firms that recognize that 53, 69, 73, 85 or 94% of their sales are linked to the Valencian chain. Others do not go into detail, but slip that “a significant part” or “most” of their turnover comes from their relationship with Mercadona.
Surprise (half). These are interesting percentages because of what they tell us about Mercadona’s expansion and the effects it has within its business ecosystem, but the truth is that few will be surprised. A few months ago Familia Martínez, a strategic supplier of Mercadona specialized especially in prepared food, it was news for your decision to invest 150 million of euros to reinforce its facilities. That gave a first clue about the business that is heating up in the heat of the expansion of the Roig chain.
Images | Mercadona
Via | Five Days
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