Mercadona

Mercadona (Valencian pronunciation: [meɾkaˈðɔna], Spanish pronunciation: [meɾkaˈðona]) is a Spanish supermarket chain operating 1,618 stores in Spain and 61 in Portugal as of April 2025.^[1]

Mercadona, S.A.

Company type	Private (Sociedad Anónima)
Industry	Retail
Founded	1977
Founder	Francisco Roig Ballester
Headquarters	Tavernes Blanques, Valencian Community , Spain
Number of locations	1,672 stores (4 October 2024)[1]
Area served	Spain, Portugal
Key people	Juan Roig (Chairman & CEO)
Products	Groceries
Revenue	€35.5 billion (US$39 billion) (2023)[2]
Total assets	8,194,637,000 ±1000 (2016)
Owner	Juan Roig (50%)[citation needed] Hortensia Herrero (30%)[citation needed] Fernando Roig (9%)[citation needed] Rafael Gómez Gómez and family (7%)[citation needed]
Number of employees	100,000[1]
Website	www.mercadona.com

History

The company was founded in 1977 by Francisco Roig Ballester and Trinidad Alfonso Mocholí in Tavernes Blanques, Valencian Community. Initially operating as a butcher’s shop, it expanded into grocery retail and developed into one of Spain’s largest supermarket chains.^[3][4]

In 1981, Juan Roig became CEO, initiating a period of nationwide expansion. In the 1990s, the company redesigned store formats, updated branding, and adopted operational changes to compete with rivals such as Carrefour and Eroski.

Recent developments

Mercadona has pursued significant international expansion in recent years, particularly in Portugal. By 2025, the company had invested over €1 billion in Portuguese operations, opening 63 stores and planning to reach 70 by the end of the year.^[5] This includes entry into the Lisbon market, with planned openings in Alta de Lisboa and Quinta do Lambert.^[6]

In June 2025, Mercadona inaugurated its largest logistics centre to date in Almeirim, Portugal, covering 120,000 m² and employing 630 people, with an investment of €290 million.^[7]

The company has also introduced price reductions on selected staple products, such as certain Hacendado coffee varieties, as part of a long-term affordability strategy.^[8]

Controversies

In June 2025, Mercadona was fined €2.6 million by Spanish data protection authorities for using facial recognition technology in stores without adequate legal basis, raising privacy concerns.^[9]

Labour unions have also reported cases of workplace harassment. In June 2025, the Galician CIG union filed a complaint alleging verbal abuse, isolation, and undue pressure on employees at the Porto do Molle store in Nigrán, Spain.^[10]

In another widely reported incident, an employee in Spain was dismissed for eating store products (croissants and cookies) without payment. The dismissal was upheld by the courts as proportionate and supported by security footage.^[11]