“The last Gallic village”This is how Juan Manuel Morales, until this Monday the general director of the IFA Group, defined regional supermarkets in a recent interview Economic News. A business model that not only structures the country and is an antidote to depopulation, but has shown great resilience in recent years, to the point that the extensive network made up of chains such as Ahorramas, Gadisa, Dinosol or Condis even threatens the reign of the giant Mercadona at the national level.
Regional supermarkets have emerged stronger from five years of chained crises. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic to the recent inflationary cycle, these local chains have been gaining market share at a rate that has allowed them to amass no less than 17.7% of the market. Although still far from the 26.8% that Mercadona monopolizesthe absolute leader for years, the recent acceleration that they have experienced places the regional ones in a position of power with respect to the competition from which they now look face to face at the empire of Juan Roig.
Specifically, according to data shared yesterday by the consulting firm Kantar, a reference in the sector, regional supermarkets led the growth of distribution in the first eight months of the year, with a rise of 0.6 points in market share, only surpassed by Mercadona itself, which increased its share compared to the same period in 2023 by 0.9 points. However, while the Valencian chain suffered a notable slowdown during the summer months, the supermarkets grouped in IFA and others of regional origin continued to show strength due to several factors.
On the one hand, there has been a significant transfer from the specialist channel -the traditional neighborhood stores- where they have managed to attract customers thanks to their good positioning. On the other hand, the company itself proximity model in areas of the country where the large chains, the hallmark of these companies, are not present, continues to bring them important competitive advantages. And in turn, the Firm commitment to the manufacturer’s brand compared to the white label, which seems to have stabilized after the boom spurred on by the inflationary spiral, has also played in its favour.
“The buyer has become accustomed to living in a situation of price increases and this causes certain communications to have less impact in the current context,” explained Bernardo Rodilla, Retail Client Director Worldpanel Division of Kantar, yesterday, in reference to the continuous promotions announced by supermarkets in the price war unleashed by the inflation crisis. Once assimilated, consumers have returned to old pre-crisis habits and have stopped going to several supermarkets to compare prices and try to save on their shopping basket, concentrating their visits on their main chain, a factor that would also have played in favor of the regional ones.
According to data provided by Kantar in its latest distribution report, while Mercadona slowed its growth from June onwards despite having announced a new general price reduction, regional chains continued to gain traffic to the point that they are now exceed half a million shopping baskets5% more than in 2023. And they also grew in all regions of the national panorama, highlighting the Canary Islands (+1.3 points), Andalusia and the northwest area (+0.9 points) or the Levante area (+0.7).
Yet, Mercadona continues to lead the ranking of distribution in terms of market share, with an unbeatable 26.8%, followed by regional companies, with 17.7%. Carrefourfor its part, currently has 10.1%. Behind it is the chain of discount German Lidl, with 6.4%. And then there are buy it (4,2%) y Yes (3.6%), ahead of Consumwhich accumulates 3.4%, Alcampo (3,1%) y Aldi (1,7%).
In the current context, however, More than half of supermarkets have lost customers compared to last year, warns the report, which points to retaining customers as the main challenge for operators. At the moment there are about 1,000 more stores than in 2019 on the national scene, which means that the consumer “has more options than ever,” said Rodilla, who stressed that the chains must identify spaces for growth, relying on the channel onlineand “put the buyer at the center” to increase the likelihood of retaining their clientele.