Juan Roig y los Miembros del Comité de Dirección de Mercadona durante la presentación de resultados de Mercadona 2013.

Mercadona's turnover rises by 4% to 19.812 million euros in 2013

06 march 2014

The company shares its growth with the country: over 85% of its purchases are Spanish products while its tax contribution rose by 12% to 1,465 million euros

  • Net profit registered at 515 million euros, a 1% increase on 2012, equivalent to 2.9% of sales.
  • Employees’ productivity rose by 6% and the company, following its code of profit sharing with its staff, divided 257 million euros in performance-related bonuses.
  • The company’s wage policy gives check-out operators and shelf stackers with over 4 years seniority a chance to take home a net monthly salary of €1,400.
  • Mercadona is focused on rolling out its Sustainable Agro-Food Chain over the next six months, a true revolution in its business model.

In 2013 Mercadona saw its turnover grow by 4%, reaching 19,812 million euros. At the end of the year, the company registered a profit of 515 million euros, a sum equivalent to 2.9% of total sales. Sales also rose in terms of volume by 2%, reaching 9,845 million kilos and litres (kilitros), thanks to the 4.8 million households who put their trust in Mercadona’s supermarkets for their shopping needs.

The activity generated by Mercadona helped to sustain the overall economic and social development of Spain in 2013. This is borne out by the fact that 85% of its purchases are of Spanish products and services, accounting for more than 14,500 million euros. In addition, the company has also reinforced its tax contribution to the country’s economy by means of payment of direct and indirect taxes, which in 2013 rose to 1,465 million euros, 12% more than the previous tax year. Of this total, 632 million euros went towards Social Security; 237 in society tax, a sum equivalent to 33% of its profits; 524 in VAT and IRPF income tax; and 72 in other taxes and duties.

Stable prices help families save money

Once again, the company’s staff of 74,000 workers with quality permanent contracts has improved its productivity by 6%. The engagement and commitment of its employees has allowed the company to fulfil the goals it had set, and so, as part of its variable performance-related wage policy, it decided to divide 257 million euros among its workers in performance bonuses.

The improvement in productivity and efficiency achieved in all areas helped to confirm Mercadona’s price differential with respect to the rest of the market at the end of 2013. This effort by the company has helped to maintain inflation at a moderate level in Spain, with its prices throughout the year situated below the average annual CPI for food. In fact, the company has taken on a commitment to continue this policy in 2014 and thus ensure that Spanish households, our "Bosses", continue have at their disposal a quality shopping basket at low prices.

Introduction of new sections for fresh produce

In 2013 the company started to introduce a new model for selling fresh products, which includes four sections: bakery, fish, fruit and vegetables, butchers and cold meats, guaranteeing customised treatment for each product with a different management system to its dry products. To this end, the company has trained over 9,400 workers in different trades related with these new fresh product sections, with an investment of over 3 million euros. For the end of 2014 it envisages over 21,000 workers trained as shopkeepers with a total investment of over 15 million euros.

At the end of 2013 the new model for its fish section was introduced in all its supermarkets; the new fruit and vegetable section in 867 stores; the bakery in 293; and the butchers and cold meats section in 19. This new model for selling fresh produce will continue to be introduced throughout 2014 and at the current moment all Mercadona’s supermarkets now have the new fruit and vegetable section; furthermore, in the month of May the new butchers and cold meats section will be installed in 290 supermarkets and in June all the company’s stores will have the new bakery section up and running.

New focus on the Primary Sector and Mercadona’s Sustainable Agro-Food Chain

In 2013, Mercadona continued to work closely with all the links in the chain in order to push forward its commitment with the development of Mercadona’s Sustainable Agro-Food Chain to generate growth in Spain’s fruit and vegetable, fishing and farming sectors involved in this project. To this end, and as part of its goal to use raw materials from Spain whenever viable, Mercadona has signed agreements with the primary sector which, at the end of 2013, has allowed the company to maintain close bonds with 5,600 fruit and vegetable farmers, 3,600 cattle raisers and 8,000 fishermen in 80 markets to which various fishing organizations and cooperatives from all around Spain belong.

For Juan Roig, “2013 marked a turning point for Mercadona. It was the year when we laid the foundations for the company’s vision for the next six years. Now it’s time to reinvent ourselves once again and introduce into Mercadona a Sustainable Agro-Food Chain. To achieve this sustainability we must satisfy the five components in the chain: customers, workers, suppliers, capital and society, and to give value to the work of our farmers, cattle raisers and fishermen and at once offer a wide range of high quality fresh products at the best possible price. The basic reason behind this big change is because it is what our 'Bosses' are asking from us and it is Mercadona’s duty to respond.".

New Collective Agreement: 17% increase in basic wage

Another of the milestones for the company in 2013 was the signing of a new Company Agreement and Equality Plan with representatives of the unions UGT (Unión General de Trabajadores) and CC.OO. (Comisiones Obreras). Valid for the next five years, in the new agreement Mercadona has committed itself to creating 1,000 new permanent quality jobs until 2018, as well as to maintain its staff’s purchasing power

According to Juan Roig, “if there is one thing that I firmly believe that is that the company’s growth must go hand in hand with its workers, sharing its profits with them. I have always said that the solution is to increase productivity and not to cut wages. Based on this belief, our wage policy gives all our check-out operators and shelf stackers who have been working with us for over four years, which is 80% of our current staff, a chance to take home a net monthly wage of €1,400. Besides, you also have to add two further monthly payments in goal-related bonuses. And this is something I am proud of and, in addition, it allows us to consolidate our position year after year as a high-performance company”.

Mercadona: standout facts and figures for 2013

In 2013, Mercadona invested 650 million euros, a sum which went mainly towards the opening of 61 new stores, which brought it up to a grand total of 1,467 supermarkets at the end of the year, and also towards refurbishing 53 stores to upgrade them to the company’s current standards. More investment went into the construction of the logistics block in Guadix (Granada) which is now open and another one in Abrera (Barcelona) still under construction. For 2014, Mercadona will raise investment to around 700 million euros, mainly set aside for the opening of 60 new stores, the refurbishment of existing supermarkets, and to continue work on the construction of the logistics block in Abrera (Barcelona).

MERCADONA: STANDOUT FACTS AND FIGURES FOR 2013

  2012 2013 Observations
Stores 1.411 1.467 56 net (61 openings // 5 closures)
Sales (incl. vat)* 19.077 19.812 +4%
Sales units“kilitres”** 9.647 9845 +2%
Sharing profits:      
Workers (performance-related bonuses)* 240 257 +7%
Net profit 508 515 +1% (2,9% s/ventas)
Tax contributions* 1.306 1.465 +12%
Investment* 650 650 =
Own Resources* 3.019 3.438 +14%
Total workforce of the company 74.000 74.000 =
* Million euros
** Million kilos/litres

 

Juan Roig durante la presentación de resultados de Mercadona de 2013.Juan Roig at the presentation of Mercadona’s results for 2013.

 

Juan Roig y los Miembros del Comité de Dirección de Mercadona durante la presentación de resultados de Mercadona de 2013.Juan Roig and members of Mercadona’s Management Committee at the presentation of the company’s results for 2013.