Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona plans to open at least 150 stores in Portugal.
The target was revealed by the company’s president, Juan Roig Alfonso, during the presentation of the Spanish retailer's 2018 results in Valencia, reports Jornal de Negocios.
The supermarket chain is to open its first four stores in July, with the first opening set for Vila Nova de Gaia, followed by Matosinhos, Maia and Gondomar, at a rate of one per week.
Another six stores will follow by the end of the year: in Porto, Braga, São João da Madeira, Ovar, Barcelos and a second store in Vila Nova de Gaia, according to Jornal Economico.
The Portuguese stores will be adapted to the new store concept that Mercadona has already started rolling out in its home market, where around 400 stores of over 1,630 have been remodeled.
Roig added that the retailer will continue expanding “down to Lisbon”.
The retailer has already signed contracts in the northern region of Portugal for another 10 stores.
Increased Workforce
Mercadona expects to hire 1,000 workers in Portugal by the end of the year, 350 more than originally planned. One of the factors for this change is that, unlike Spain, Mercadona stores in Portugal will be opened on Sundays.
Sunday is the second most profitable day for the retail sector in Portugal, after Saturday.
Thus far, the company has hired 300 workers in Portugal and most are currently undergoing training in stores near the border.
Roig added that Mercadona's Portugal outlets will have a noticeable difference to its Spanish stores in terms of the food assortment, with as much as 50% of supply set to be different.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
