Condis invests 4 million in expanding its Mercabarna logistics platform

Condis Supermercats has just completed an investment of more than 4 million euros aimed at expanding its Mercabarna logistics platform, a strategic asset for the company, which places maximum importance on the sale of fresh products to strengthen its positioning as a proximity chain. With a network of 164 own supermarkets and 509 franchised ones, Condis is the brand with the most establishments in the Barcelona metropolitan area, with a strong presence in the city center and in certain areas of the Eixample, where its franchises have multiplied.

"Condis sells a lot, a lot of fruit and vegetables; with the expansion we have made in Mercabarna, we now have the largest warehouse in the central fruit market in the hands of a single operator," the general director and new president of Condis, Manel Romero, tells The New Barcelona Post. The executive, who has just led the purchase of the distribution group from the Condal family, also announces a plan to install two photovoltaic energy plants that will generate 30% of the annual energy consumed by the Mercabarna logistics platforms and the Montcada i Reixac headquarters.

In the central market of Barcelona, Condis previously had a 3,400 square meter warehouse which, with this project, has been expanded to 5,000 square meters. The company has built a new 1,600 square meter warehouse on an adjacent plot that Mercabarna used as a parking lot and which in the past had housed a pallet warehouse. "Mercabarna has awarded us this plot, expanding our concession. We no longer fit in these facilities; we were at 105% of the available capacity. With this expansion, we are making a firm commitment to stay in the central market and further improve the service we provide daily to our stores," explains Romero.

According to the president of Condis, the investment of 4 million euros also allows progress in the group's sustainability plan and carbon footprint reduction, since from now on it will be able to produce renewable energy in Mercabarna thanks to the installation of 600 square meters of solar panels on the roof of the warehouse, with a power of 124kWp. In addition, LED lighting has been implemented and the conventional refrigeration system (water condensation tower) has been replaced by a CO₂ system, a change that eliminates the most polluting fluorinated gases and, at the same time, recycles one of the most relevant greenhouse gases.

Converting the central market into a large photovoltaic energy generation park is one of Mercabarna's major commitments, which encourages private operators like Condis to invest in its facilities and, in parallel, also has its own project underway to cover the roofs of the fish and fruit markets with panels. Specifically, at the end of April, a public tender is expected to be called to select an operator to install 120,000 square meters of panels that could generate 25% of the food complex's energy consumption.

The new Mercabarna warehouse, which contains a large cold storage room, is already built and now the old one is being remodeled to unite them and create a large open-plan space. Every morning, before 10 am, this center ---where about sixty people work--- receives fruit and vegetable orders from all Condis stores, which receive the product that same afternoon or early the next morning, before the start of business hours. In Mercabarna, but in another area, Condis also has its own logistics platform for supplying fish and seafood, launched in 2015.

In parallel to this project, Condis plans to immediately begin the construction of a solar energy park on the roof of its central logistics platform in Montcada i Reixac, where the company is headquartered. The idea is to occupy 6,750 square meters and for the installation to start operating in the second half of 2022, with an approximate power of 1.1 Mwh and an investment of 750,000 euros. According to Romero, these two sustainable energy facilities will produce about 2GB/year, 30% of the total consumption of the warehouses.

New stage after the change of ownership

With a turnover of 890 million euros in 2020, Condis Supermercats has just begun a new stage exactly 60 years after brothers Xavier, Antoni, and Ramon Condal Escudé started their journey in the food distribution sector with a stall in Barcelona's Mercat de la Mercè. Last December, the twelve shareholders of the founding family announced the sale of 100% of the company to four members of the management team (55%) and the private equity fund Portobello Capital (45%). This operation was largely financed by the sale of the network of stores Condis had in Madrid and with the transfer of ownership of the Montcada logistics platform to a company called Crossbay, from the British fund Mark, which paid 65 million euros.

"We are very happy to be able to start this new stage with Portobello. Condis is now a very unleveraged company, as both divestments have allowed us to reduce debt and leave the Madrid market, which generated a lot of complexity for us and where we could not grow," highlights Romero. The executive holds the presidency of the new board of directors of the company, which has also incorporated three representatives from Portobello and an external director: José Luis Lanuza, former CEO of Keraben and current general manager of the ceramic flooring division of the British listed group Victoria.

One of the first decisions taken by the new owners is to embrace and support the decision of the America's Cup to be held in Barcelona in 2024. Thus, Condis is one of the private promoters that will contribute money to finance the event, which can generate an economic impact of more than one billion euros.

In this new phase, the Catalan distribution group plans to invest between ten and eleven million euros annually to remodel and update its store network. In parallel, it aims to grow with the opening of between two and three new owned supermarkets per year with a sales area of between 600 and 800 square meters and continue developing the franchise area. "We will not undertake a major expansion; the network we have is already very extensive, and we will only open stores that allow us to make money and strengthen ourselves as the reference proximity supermarket in many towns," argues Romero. Some of the chain's franchisees operate up to 20 stores.

Projects in the pipeline

Among future projects, Condis plans to build a new logistics platform for the management of refrigerated products —a segment in full growth—, which it currently handles from its Montcada headquarters, where it wants to gain space and also plans to grow vertically. It is an undefined project without deadlines, as an ideal location must first be found. In this regard, when General Cable closed its plant located directly opposite the Montcada warehouse, Condis was interested in developing this refrigerated project, but ultimately, the plot was sold to Goodman, which built a warehouse for Amazon.

Last summer, also near its headquarters in the Pla d'en Coll industrial estate in Montcada, Condis inaugurated new facilities spanning 2,500 square meters focused exclusively on preparing orders for its online supermarket. This new platform —a warehouse previously occupied by Ofiprix— was launched due to the strong growth experienced by Condisline during the pandemic. Previously, this virtual store generated 1% of the turnover, and now it contributes more than 2%, meaning its weight has doubled. The relocation has freed up space in the central logistics platform, which features an advanced robotic installation that is a benchmark in the distribution sector and allows for fully automated order preparation to supply stores.