Investment pays off for Mercadona
increase in sales during 2002 as its policy of investment in new
and exisiting stores continued to pay off - but plans for expansion
into Portugal have been shelved.
Spanish supermarket group Mercadona saw its sales grow by 28 per cent in 2002 to €5.8 billion, a rise which also helped the company improve its pre-tax profits by 30 per cent to €133 million.
The company said that it ended the year with 681 supermarkets in 38 provinces and 13 different Autonomous Communities in Spain. The company last year invested €312 million in new stores, the expansion or refitting of 70 existing outlets and the transformation of a warehouse into a new logistical centre.
This year, Mercadona is expecting to invest €350 million in 100 new supermarkets, the refitting of 70 exisiting stores and the inauguration of the new logistics unit.
Mercadona also highlighted the opening of a new meat processing plant, Martinez Loriente, during the year, a direct result of the company's ongoing programme of collaboration with key suppliers.
Mercadona had been expected to expand its business into Portugal over the last year, but it has now decided not to pursue this avenue of growth as the opportunities for further growth there are limited. The company will now concentrate solely on building its business in Spain.
