Following this dynamic, 35.4% of the large consumption retail outlets were opened or refurbished over the last four years, according to Retail Data information at the close of 2022.
The refurbishments in the shops alone make a total of over 5,500 in this period of time, which means a serious commitment by the sector to the modernisation of the sales network, basically, in terms of energy saving and customer service, such as improvements in accessibility or the establishing of new sections, such as, for example, wine cellars.
Growth during the year of 2021 was significant due to the recovery of projects – both of new establishments (1,067) and of refurbishments (1.779), which remained pending during the pandemic.
The year 2022 stood out for the dynamism of the refurbishments – reaching almost 1,300, and for the openings, with a figure of around 825 new venues, which easily overtook the 692 of 2019 and are close to the 848 of 2020.
With a total of 6,530 shops opened or refurbished over the past four-year period in the format of supermarkets and self-service shops, the companies belonging to ASEDAS, Asociación Española de Distribuidores, Autoservicios y Supermercados (Spanish Association of Distributors, Self-service shops and Supermarkets), represent 73% of these figures.
The dynamism of the companies operating in towns of under 10,000 inhabitants (mainly as franchises or cooperatives) is worth mentioning. These represent over 20 percent of the new store openings. This volume of openings has also increased employment levels, which at present make up over 300,000 people employed in ASEDAS.
“The difficulties we have experienced in recent years, with the pandemic and the current cost crisis, are reflected on the map of openings of food distribution stores. In spite of this, the conclusion reached at the end of 2022 is that the sector maintains a sustained dynamism in terms of investment in public works, in investment in energy efficiency and in investment in employment, which consolidates it as one of the most important economic activities for the Spanish economy,” Ignacio García Magarzo, General Manager of ASEDAS comments.
