Mercadona on the march!

Mercadona is shaking the whole retail scene in Portugal, challenging the position of all the established players.

More recently it was Lidl doing that job and the German retailer reached a share of 13%, but since Mercadona started to operate in the market, Lidl’s growth has stalled.

But those who were hit the most are Pingo Doce and Intermarché that were quite strong at regional level North and Centre, which is exactly where Mercadona started the challenge. Even Aldi, which is a new player with 3 times more shops, has now retreated to 2.5% market share while Mercadona with 49 shops only already reached a share of 6%. The only player that seems not to be much affected is Continente whose share remained flat at 27%. But if Mercadona reach 300 stores, they could become the market leader!

For 2027, Mercadona plans to open another 11 shops in Guarda, Évora and the Setúbal district.

The strategy is patient and indicative of thorough research before entering the market.

They’ve cracked some categories like cosmetics and detergents bringing much cheaper options than the established players at a fraction of the cost. That became the hook to bring the female shoppers into the store. And once there, all the categories thrived. From charcuterie to chilled ready meals and frozen meal components, they are destroying the competition mostly through Private Label. The assortment is narrow but precise and the prices are unbeatable. They become market leaders on every sku they bring to the party and the current strategy of the challenged retailers is simple: if Mercadona has it…we need to have it too at the best possible price.

Every new store opening of Mercadona is a local event bringing crowds into it and causing traffic chaos!

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