Inside the fourth Mercadona Hive in Alicante

Mercadona continues in its commitment to online sales with the opening of its fourth Hive in Alicante

26 may 2022
  • With the opening of this new Hive, Mercadona estimates it will reach 2 million online orders each year. 
  • The Alicante Hive is expected to employ 185 people.
  • Over €14M was invested in its construction.
  • This new warehouse exclusively dedicated to online sales (internally called a “Hive”) is added to the company's existing Hives in Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid.

Today, Mercadona opens its fourth Hive, a warehouse exclusively for online sales, in the city of Alicante. Over €14 million has been invested in it, and it is expected to have a staff of 185 people. The company will start the new service in the central region of Alicante and will expand its operating radius over the coming weeks until reaching a large part of the province and the city of Murcia. With the opening of this new Mercadona Hive in Alicante, the company estimates it will reach 2 million online orders each year.

All customers of the delivery areas in the operating radius of the Hives have access to the new website and app for doing their shopping, and will be able to receive it from 7am to 10pm from Monday to Saturday. Mercadona has different sales models based on the demand for orders existing in each town, although all customers in these areas will enjoy the same shopping experience.

Firstly, the “Hive” model serves areas with a high density of online orders. The Alicante Hive is added to the three others operated by the company in other cities, such as Valencia (operating since 2018), Barcelona (since 2019) and Madrid (since 2020). A fifth Hive in Seville will be added to these and is expected to open during the second half of this year.

Secondly, a new preparation and delivery model from physical stores is also being developed for areas with a lower concentration of orders. For now, this model is in place in part of Castellón and Tarragona, and it is expected to continue expanding in more stores with the objective of bringing the new online shopping service to other cities.

The Mercadona Online team is made up of 1,600 people with stable, quality jobs, mostly pickers and delivery staff. Over €45 million have been invested in the construction of the current four Hives and €15 million in Mercadona’s own fleet of vans. In 2021, sales increased to €510 million, 40% more than in 2020.

According to Juana Roig, Managing Director of Mercadona Online, “With the opening of our fourth Hive in Alicante, we are taking a step forward in our vision of satisfying our online customers throughout Spain and Portugal. Once profitability is achieved, today we face the challenge of expansion. For this, the use of technology is vital.” In fact, new Mercadona offices were opened at the start of the month for the online project in Madrid, seeking to incorporate talent onto the technology team, broadening access to these profiles.

Header image: Inside the fourth Mercadona Hive in Alicante.