vein

Mercadona has found a vein to grow beyond its white label and prepared food: tourism

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Hotels, restaurants, agencies, guides… When you think about those who are making a fortune with the tourist boom In Spain, the mind goes directly to the hospitality industry and related businesses, such as holiday apartments. There are, however, other sectors in which the flow of visitors is felt with similar force, such as commerce or food. They show it with astonishing clarity the data from one of the firms most relevant of the retail national, Mercadona. In their stores, tourists represent such an important business niche that this year they will leave 1.8 billion of euros and will account for 4.5% of gross sales. One figure: 126.3 billion. That tourism is a huge business is nothing new. The INE estimates that last year the accumulated spending of foreign visitors in Spain was close to 126.3 billion euros16.1% more than in 2023. And everything indicates that this progression will be maintained in 2025. First, because the flow of travelers keeps growing at a good pace. Second, because this greater influx comes accompanied by an increase of spending: between January and October of this year alone, tourists spent around 118.6 billion eurosa figure that takes into account international tourism. A percentage: 4.5%. The increase in tourists is felt in vacation rentals, restaurants, hotels… and the accounts of one of the large Spanish retail chains, Mercadona. Yesterday Expansion public an article which shows how the footprint of foreign visitors in the Valencian chain has not stopped growing in recent years, both in net terms (millions invoiced) and in the weight that these incomes have in the company’s accounts. If in 2021 Juan Roig’s chain earned 750 million euros thanks to sales to tourists, which represented 2.7% of gross income that year, in 2025 the picture is very different. If Mercadona’s forecasts are met, 2025 will close with a sales volume to tourists of 1.8 billion euros, which will increase its contribution to the company’s total gross turnover to 4.5%. The data They are calculated thanks to purchases paid with foreign cards and are interesting because they show a sustained progression during the five-year period. One year: 2021. The last five years have been anything but boring in the tourism sector, which has gone from suffering the hangover of the pandemic to achieving record results. The INE tables show that in 2021 Spain received 31.2 million foreign tourists, 71.6 in 2022, 85.2 in 2023 and 93.7 in 2024. This year in October it already exceeded the 85 million. This rise has been even an increase in tourist spending: 34.9 billion in 2021 to 126,100 in 2024. All this data seems to have been clearly reflected in Mercadona’s accounts. According to the information to which you have had access ExpansionIn 2021, tourists left 750 million in the chain’s stores, which represented 2.7% of its total gross income. In 2022 these values ​​were already at 1,060 and 3.4%, respectively; In 2023 they amounted to 1,340 and 3.8% and in 2024 they reached 1,550 and 4%. If the forecasts are right, this year will close with sales to tourists worth 1.8 billion euros, 4.5% of gross sales. One question: Was it expected? Yes. And not only because of the increase in tourism, which translates into a greater number of potential foreign buyers. The supermarket employers’ association, AEDAS, calculate that in the most touristy areas these represent around 18% of the total consumers. And if Mercadona stands out for something, it is for its extensive presence in Spanish territory, with more than 1,600 stores spread throughout Spain and a wide presence in the Valencian Community. In fact, at a general level it is estimated that its market share in the sector it’s already around 30% (a high percentage that even exceeds some regions), far above the rest of its competitors. Images | Pedro López (Flickr) and Mercadona Via | Expansion In Xataka | Action supermarkets have gone from being unknown to conquering half of Europe. In Spain they will not have it easy

the new great vein of the luxury market

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If there are wine lists, if there are sommeliers specialized in liquor, if there are people willing to spend hundreds of euros on bottles of whiskey, vodka or a good Port… Why wouldn’t exactly the same thing happen with water? It may sound strange if we take into account that water is (by definition) a “tasteless” liquid, but for some time it has been encouraging a premium market that already aspires to mobilize more than 56 billion of dollars in just a few years. Curiously (or not) the phenomenon coincides with a complex scenario for alcohol, which suffers a particular crisis among the new generations. Premium water? Exact. Water is by definition (at least for the RAE) a “clear, colorless, odorless and tasteless” liquid, but that does not mean that all waters are identical. In the same way that not all wines, whiskeys, vodkas or beers are. And the proof is that in recent years a powerful, growing and, above all, lucrative premium H2O market has been taking shape. It may not be particularly well-known or as widespread as the wine or beer market, but a quick search comes in to see if it is. in full expansion global. And that Spain does not remain alien to the trend. Is it that obvious? Yes. And no. The demand for premium water is still light years away from that of other drinks, but it has been gaining followers and making its way into the market for some time. Good proof is that in recent days media outlets such as the Americans have dedicated reports to him. The Wall Street Journal and Foxthe British Guardian or the south korean The Chosun Daily. They talk about bottles ranging from 11 to 95 dollars (in reality there are bottles a lot much more expensive), restaurants with extensive H2O menus or sommeliers specializing in water. Are there figures? Yes. As a figure always says more than extensive explanations, it is good to take a look at the study ‘Premium Bottled Water Market’published in February by the Research & Markets platform. It contains some data that gives an idea of ​​the scope and, above all, the projection of the global market for what are considered ‘delicatessen waters’. According to its authors, last year it was close to 36.2 billion dollars and the forecasts call for it to continue growing at a compound annual rate of 7.5% until it exceeds 56 billion in 2030. What’s more, in a report dedicated to the demand for premium waters in the United States, Natasha Dangoor, of The Wall Street Journalexplains that right now there are some restaurants already billing $100,000 annually through the sale of water. Specifically, the business newspaper cites a restaurant in Los Angeles that offers its clientele an extensive menu that includes liquids bottled in places like Australia or Armenia and sold for $11 or $13. Of course the place also offers tap water from Los Angeles at no cost. Is it something widespread? Although the analysis from Research & Markets show a clearly rising market that is still far from other more conventional ones, such as wine, whiskey or beer. According to WSJin the entire United States there are only a dozen restaurants that offer a water menu as such, although experts already predict that this number will probably grow little by little. There are similar premises in Italy, Denmark, the United Kingdom or Spain. In fact Wall Street Journal place here (more specifically in Galicia) the business with the most extensive water menu in the world. The restaurant in question is called O Lar do Leitónis located in Ourense, and for years was already presented as the establishment of its type with the largest supply of water bottles on the entire planet. You don’t have to imagine it. His full menu of H2O can be consulted online. Do you only go to restaurants? At all. The fever for premium waters does not only affect hoteliers. There are also sommeliers, platforms specialized and international competitionslike the one recently held in Atlanta (Georgia, USA), where more than a hundred waters from 35 countries competed for the title of best water. Those responsible for issuing the ruling? Judges capable of appreciating aspects such as the aroma or taste of different types of water, no matter how much the RAE insists on define the liquid as an odorless and tasteless substance. The market has reached a sufficient level of maturity to have already been involved in the occasional scandal capable of crossing borders, such as the one that occurred recently. in France by the popular water brand Perrier. But… Why that boom? The million dollar question. Why this interest in water? What leads someone to spend tens or hundreds of euros on a bottle of an apparently tasteless liquid? That question he had it done not long ago Simon Usborne, a reporter who visited a place in Cheshire (United Kingdom) specialized in water to try different types of liquid and above all evaluate aspects such as nuances of flavor or how the liquids pair with each meal. “I take a sip before I drink. It’s a strange feeling,” Usbourne relates after ordering a 12-pound bottle filled with water collected in the Piedmont region. “It is so soft and smooth that it almost slides, instead of flowing, over my tongue (…). When after a bite of crab I take another sip, the dryness disappears and the water enhances the creaminess of the crab. It works curiously well.” The keyhe points out, is in the minerals, the dissolved solids (TDS)such as sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Their differences explain why nuances are appreciated in the water (a sweet, bitter, acidic flavor…), but above all that there are better or worse options depending on the type of dishes we are going to eat, whether it is more or less heavy. Of course, no adding lemon slices or ice cubes to the glass. Are there more reasons? There is who relates interest … Read more

Madrid has found in Usera an unexpected vein to touristify the neighborhood: a "Madrid-style Chinatown"

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If London, New York, Antwerp, Buenos Aires (and so on a long etcetera of cities) have their own “Chinatowns”, why would Madrid be any different? And above all, why would it be if we take into account that these neighborhoods tend to be poles of tourist attraction and Madrid is precisely looking for decentralize your flow of visitors? It sounds like pure theory, but the capital’s City Council is betting on just that: boost “a Madrid-style Chinatown” in Usera. The goal: touristify the area with that new seal. In a place in Madrid… Today’s User has little (very little) to do with the User of a few decades ago. Over the last few years, this district of Madrid has received a wave of Chinese families who have been transforming part of its streets. And not just because they now reside there thousands of neighbors from the Asian giant (in 2022 the City Council spoke of more than 10,000 people of Chinese nationality; other estimates raise the community to 20,000). To the first wave of immigrants, who arrived in the 80s and 90s and who dedicated themselves to opening restaurants and bazaars, have been followed by a second, more educated generation that has set up new businesses, such as pharmacies or law firms. It comes with taking a walk through one of the streets of the neighborhood, such as Dolores Barranco (or directly pull the street view of Google Maps), to see signs in Chinese advertising bars, clinics, shops, agencies, hairdressers, travel agencies, technology stores, food, furniture… and of course pedestrians arriving from the second most populous country on the planet. All between facades, awnings and the occasional business that reminds us that we are in a neighborhood of Madrid. Madrid’s Chinatown? That is the idea (and the brand) that has been taking shape in recent years in the capital. Both on the street and in the institutions themselves, which have not hesitated to talk about “Chinatown of Usera” either “Madrid-style Chinatow”. After all, it is nothing new. Other large cities, such as London, New York or Vancouver (to name only some cases) have their own Chinatowns, characterized by their proliferation of Asian businesses and which stand out for two reasons: their interculturality and great tourist potential. Why is it important? Because the latter (tourism potential) is something to take into account in a town like Madrid, which last year alone received more than 11 million of visitors and has seen how mass tourism became a challenge that affects something as essential as its residential market. Tourism has become a huge businessbut José Luis Martínez-Almeida’s team knows that for keep growing Without suffocating the city, it needs to grow in an orderly manner. And one of its great bets to achieve this is the “decentralization” of the flow of visitors, ensuring that tourists go beyond the Retiro, Sol or the Royal Palace and expand with a “balanced distribution.” To achieve this, the city has some important assets, such as new itinerariesthe bet on Formula 1 and… (exactly!) the “Chinatown-Usera”. What do you have in mind? Convert a part of Usera into “the new ‘Madrid Chinatown’”, as advertisement the Madrid City Council in 2022, when it advanced part of its plans for the area: opting for the decoration of the environment, delimiting the entrance and exit with large arches designed by the Chinese community, pedestrianizing Dolores Barranco street and improving some squares. Initiatives that will favor pedestrians and, Cybele reasons“will boost trade.” Since then the project has continued to advance in several phases to extend almost two kilometers (1.7km) between the Plaza del Hidrogen, the market and Madrid Río with a total investment that approaches nine million of euros. What are you looking for? “One of the most unique aspects of the remodeling will be the installation of elements that reinforce the identity of the environment as ‘Chinatown’ through the incorporation of specific furniture and cultural references in pavements and signs,” pointed out the City Council in May of last year, when it announced the second phase of the project. Among the strengths of the project, he emphasized that it had been carried out “with the involvement of the Chinese community.” Do you have a tourist focus? Yes. Although that is not the only spirit of the project, the City Council itself recognizes that it reflects a large part of its reason for being. “It seeks to reinforce the identity of the neighborhood as a place of residence for an important part of the Chinese community, favoring the integration of some of its cultural features with the traditional ways of life of the neighbors with the complementary objective of progressively decentralizing the city’s tourism, which mostly goes to central districts,” claims the Consistory. Not everything has been easy. Madrid has seen difficulties to find companies interested in manufacturing the access arches, a key part of the project and which identify the Chinese neighborhoods in other cities, such as London or New York. {“videoId”:”x91sz26″,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”This is the PERFECT BOARDING of a plane AND NO AIRLINE DOES IT ❌✈️”, “tag”:”webedia-prod”, “duration”:”567″} Is there more on the table? Yes. On Sunday elDiario.es revealed that not everything will be a pedestrian promenade and decoration with Asian echoes. The City Council also plans a “tourist quality” program that will have as its highlight a “Chinatown de Madrid” seal, according to the newspaper after consulting the contract of the Usera Board. Among other issues, the idea is to assess the quality of certain businesses in the neighborhood (there are at least 280 “with tourist potential”), help them improve and reward those that meet their standards with the quality badge. The objective, collect the sheetsis to “position Usera as an attractive destination for attracting family, cultural and gastronomic tourism” and “attract and capture new local, national and foreign audiences.” All while works progress for the almost two kilometer walk from Madrid Río and the installation of the first arch. The remodeling represents an opportunity for the neighborhood, although there … Read more

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