Consum will invest €220 million in Catalonia over the next three years.

BarcelonaThe Valencian supermarket cooperative Consum will invest approximately €220 million in Catalonia over the next three years, focusing on expanding and improving its store network and logistics centers, the company announced Thursday.

The company plans to open at least 60 new stores in Catalonia, 18 of them as its own supermarkets and the rest as franchises operating under the Consum Charter brand. This will represent the hiring of approximately 1,100 employees. It has opened a store in Mataró in 2025 and plans to open five more in Lleida, Amposta, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Terrassa, and Olot.

The bulk of the investment will be allocated to the logistics platforms of the Zona Franca (Free Trade Zone) in Barcelona and in El Prat de Llobregat (Baix Llobregat). The first center will feature a 2,700-square-meter refrigerated warehouse, an 11,500-square-meter warehouse with an automated silo, and an additional 40,000-square-meter warehouse.

In addition, the cooperative acquired 142,000 square meters of land in Montcada i Reixac (Vallès Occidental) three years ago, where it plans to build a new logistics center of approximately 100,000 square meters. At the moment, Consum has no construction date for the new infrastructure, as it is still in negotiations with the authorities to obtain all the necessary permits and regulatory changes.

Importance of the Catalan market

The Director General of Consuming, Antonio Rodríguez, stated at a press event in Barcelona that Catalonia is "a very important market," as "the Catalan economy is doing very well" because consumers have greater purchasing power thanks to the fact that household income is higher than the Spanish average and unemployment is lower than in the rest of the country. Furthermore, the Catalan supermarket sector is "very competitive," as there is a high concentration of both Catalan, Spanish, and foreign chains.

In total, Catalonia represents 22% of the group's total revenue. In 2024, Consum had a turnover of €4.707 billion and a profit of €108 million (an increase of more than 7% in both cases). compared to 2023). In addition, the cooperative is the fifth-largest supermarket chain in terms of sales area and works with more than 900 Catalan suppliers, some of which supply the group's stores in Catalonia and others throughout Spain. The group's policy is to prioritize local products, especially in the fresh food category.

Consum currently has almost 22,000 employees, spread across the Valencian Community (where the company is based), Murcia, Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, and Catalonia, where it has around 4,500 workers. As a cooperative, it does not have a shareholder base; 97% of employees are members.