Mercadona celebrates its fifth anniversary in Portugal, where it opened its first store on 2 July 2019 in Vila Nova de Gaia, in Canidelo (Porto). The same year, the company opened a further nine stores, located in the districts of Porto, Aveiro and Braga.

Over the past five years, the company has invested a total of 1 billion euros in Portugal, allowing it to open 50 supermarkets (with sales of over 2.77 billion euros) and 2 logistics centres, one in Póvoa de Varzim (Porto) and the other in Almeirim (Santarém). The latter will come online this year after an investment of over 250 million euros. In terms of employment, the company has generated 6,000 stable, quality posts.

Infographic on Mercadona in Portugal.

In 2016, Mercadona announced its internationalisation project with the creation of the Portuguese company Irmãdona Supermercados, whose head office is located in Vila Nova de Gaia. The same year, it carried out its first recruitment drive, and in 2017 it opened its first co-innovation centre, in Matosinhos (Porto), to adapt its selection to the habits and preferences of Portuguese consumers. Two years later, the first Mercadona store had 1,000 new products adapted to the Portuguese market, proof of the company’s commitment to offering an efficient selection, guaranteeing maximum quality.

After opening several stores in the north of Portugal, in 2022 Mercadona reached the metropolitan area of Lisbon, opening stores in the districts of Lisbon and Setúbal.

This internationalisation project has allowed Mercadona to meet and work with new Portuguese suppliers; additionally, it has allowed Spanish consumers to discover Portuguese products such as bread, pastries, cheeses, wines and other typical products from the country. The company's commitment to Portuguese suppliers is reflected in the 3 billion euros in supplies purchased since 2019.

Under the premise of "giving back part of what is received to society”, Mercadona has also developed a Social Action Plan in the country, which includes food drives. In this context, all Portugal stores collaborate with social entities, with essential products donated on a daily basis. Over the past five years, Mercadona has donated approximately 5,500 tonnes of food to social entities in the different regions in which it is present.

"Mercadona has made progress and learned a lot by entering the very competitive Portuguese market. Today, we are proud to say that the efforts we are making to adapt to the country is reflected in people’s desire to have our supermarkets nearby, although there is still a long way to go when it comes to becoming the Portuguese company that we want to be in Portugal. The past five years have been a good start point and served as motivation to continue building a project of shared and sustainable growth that generates employment and wealth in the country, contributing to its economic development," states Inês Santos, Mercadona Institutional Relationships Manager in Portugal.

Central offices of Mercadona in Portugal.

Mercadona store in Canidelo (Portugal).