More than 240 suppliers and inter-suppliers and more than 1,700 small and medium-sized Catalan companies or companies based in Catalonia operated with Mercadona in 2023 to supply their products. In total, the supermarket and online sales company reached 5,004 million euros in purchases from these companies, which represents an increase of 14.7% compared to the previous year and translates into figures such as 122 million kilos of cold cuts, 78.9 million units of bath gel and shampoo, and 46.4 million of fruit, including 2.7 million kilos of fresh fish from the Catalan coast.
In addition, in the past year, Mercadona continued its transformation process to implement an efficient store model and to optimize the logistics blocks it has in Abrera, Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, and Sant Esteve Sesrovires, and in the platform exclusively dedicated to the online service, with a total investment that has exceeded 75 million euros.
Specifically, the company implemented its efficient model in 11 stores during 2023, with six openings and five renovations. These types of stores, of which it has 179 in Catalonia out of a total of 249, have improvements in insulation, LED lighting, and intelligent energy consumption management, as well as more sustainable refrigeration systems.
In parallel, the company has maintained the development of policies to reduce emissions, which have allowed it to certify a 38% reduction from 2015 to 2022; the use of recycled material in 77% of disposable commercial packaging, and the use of renewable energy sources. In this regard, it ended 2023 with 669 charging points for electric vehicles and 12,000 photovoltaic panels in its centers in Catalonia.
All this in a year that Mercadona closed with a workforce of 15,205 people, after generating 590 jobs in 2023. It was also a year in which the company donated 3,524 tons of essential products to 163 social entities with which it regularly collaborates in Catalonia.