Mercadona is distributing a total of €780 million to its 112,000 employees this Wednesday as variable compensation. In total, across various initiatives, including improved working hours (with an impact of approximately €100 million) and the planned salary increase (another €125 million), the company has allocated over €1 billion to its workforce, according to a press release. The compensation paid to employees this Wednesday consists of two bonuses. One is for employees with less than four years of service, and the other is three months' salary for those with more than four years of service, representing 70% of the workforce. These employees received a net amount of €7,250 this Wednesday (€5,400 in variable compensation plus their regular monthly salary). The company, chaired by Juan Roig, points out that it has also implemented a salary increase to compensate for the rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 2.9% in Spain and 2.2% in Portugal, where it also has stores; this represents an investment of €125 million per year. Furthermore, in December, working hours were improved by extending the vacation period by one week, from 30 to 37 days. This measure, in effect since the beginning of the current fiscal year in both Spain and Portugal, "represents a significant improvement in working hours for employees and has an annual cost of €100 million," according to the company. All these initiatives total more than €1 billion for the company. Mercadona asserts that it "is committed to employee satisfaction" and that thanks to these policies, it has achieved a projected increase in workforce productivity by 2025.

The Catalan food and supermarket company Ametller Origen closed 2025 with a turnover of 800 million euros. 18% more than the previous year which represents a new all-time sales record, according to a press release. The company has not reported profits.

This January 14th, I strolled down a shopping street in Barcelona and… Hearts. Red. "Give love." "Surprise them." Gift sets. Ribbons. Valentine's Day was on full display as if it were imminent.

The Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food, Òscar Ordeig, stated this Wednesday that shops and restaurants could face fish shortages during the Christmas holidays if the European Commission does not authorize additional working days for Catalan fishermen. European regulations allow fishermen a maximum number of fishing days per year. In the case of Catalonia, if this quota is not increased, fishermen will have to remain in port during the final weeks of 2025 because they will have already used up all their allotted days, meaning they will be unable to supply shops during the Christmas season, one of the peak periods for fish and seafood consumption. Ordeig explained that the European Commissioner for Fisheries, Costas Kadis, has committed to allowing fishermen to go out to sea more days this year, but the exact number has not yet been specified. In an interview on SER radio, Ordeig stated that there will "obviously" be a shortage of fish if Brussels ultimately does not allow fishermen to work more days. The regional minister reiterated his criticism of the European Union's fisheries policy, which, in his opinion, is pushing many professionals in the Catalan fishing sector to abandon the activity. One of the Catalan government's main complaints about the EU's fisheries policy is that it is "rigid" and, furthermore, equates fishing in the Atlantic, which is much more industrialized and uses very large vessels owned by major companies, with fishing in the Mediterranean—especially in Catalonia, Spain, and Italy—which is more traditional and where fishermen often form small groups. Clash with Brussels

The Catalan government, like the Spanish government and most regional governments, has opposed the latest proposal from the European Commission, which cut the fishing quota for trawlers in the Mediterranean by 79% and proposed that vessels only go to sea for 20 to 29 days per year. The Spanish government formed a common front with Italy and France to prevent the approval of this legislation, but Brussels temporarily backtracked and authorized that boats that had implemented a series of environmental and energy efficiency measures could fish for 130 days, as in 2024.

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The French government has temporarily suspended the Chinese e-commerce platform Shein in the country until it demonstrates that "all its content complies with current laws and regulations." The decision was made following a scandal sparked by the platform's launch. from an advertisement by the company where hyper-realistic dolls that looked like little girls were being sold as sex toys.

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Olive oil, perfumes, headphones, light bulbs, and underwear are the most frequently stolen items in Spanish stores, according to a study by the retail consultancy NIQ for the anti-theft device manufacturer Checkpoint Systems and Aecoc, the national association of large companies in the distribution sector. In total, stores in Spain lose €2.917 billion annually to so-called shrinkage, which includes shoplifting, supplier fraud, and administrative errors. This figure represents approximately 1.1% of the sector's revenue, according to the report. On average, each theft involves items valued at €195.58, although 83% of thefts involve products worth less than €150. 65% of thefts are committed by occasional customers, while 35% are coordinated actions by organized gangs for profit. These gangs typically steal high-value products for resale and "pose a major problem for the security of establishments," the study adds.

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The European Union and the United States have put in writing in a joint document, in what is known as joint agreement, the terms of the trade agreement they reached at the end of July European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump to avoid a tariff war.

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Illegal street vending, drugs on public streets, and skyrocketing filth. This is what many residents and shopkeepers in Barcelona's Sant Antoni neighborhood have been experiencing for months. "We've reached the limit: either we report it now or it will get worse. We want a political reaction," say Sant Antoni Encants, one of the neighborhood associations that issued a letter on Monday to the Eixample and Ciutat Vella city councils to express their discontent over the "deterioration it is suffering." In it, they detail that the increase in uncivil behavior affects neighborhood coexistence and, in turn, has a direct impact on local businesses.

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With the deadline looming, US President Donald Trump met this Sunday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to see if it was possible to break the deadlock on a trade deal that would avoid a trade war. After much back and forth, both economies agreed on a general 15% tariff on European exports, in line with the agreement the United States reached with Japan.

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In an increasingly volatile world, international trade is seeking new strategies to secure its routes. Shipping companies have signed new trade agreements to establish optimal port calls, coinciding with the paralysis caused by the war in Gaza in the Suez Canal, the main gateway to the Mediterranean for ships from Asia. This entire reconfiguration of global traffic has impacted the Port of Barcelona's activity in the first half of 2025.

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The process is simple: choose the box you want, pay for it, and take it home without knowing what's inside. The Surprise Box store on Carrer Ferran in Barcelona doesn't go unnoticed. It's a warehouse (or a pit) of lost packages from e-commerce giants like Amazon, Shein, AliExpress, or Temu: products that haven't reached their recipients. Pedestrians constantly come and go, intrigued by the items hidden on the shelves, packed in boxes of different sizes and origins. Many rummage and shake, trying to figure out the contents of a package, but few risk paying for a random surprise. The price is around 24 euros per kilo, calculated on the scales scattered throughout the store. Intrigue is the key to the business, and ARA has tried the experience.

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Maria Rosa López is one of the most punctual customers at the Verges market. Before eight in the morning, she's already waiting for the doors of El Café de la Plaza to open so she can take a sandwich to one of the stallholders. "The trust between vendor and customer is one of the markets' strengths; here we all know each other, we greet each other, and we catch up," López acknowledges. Verges is an example of the continued existence of small-town markets, with five or six stalls where one day a week you can find fruit, vegetables, clothing, or shoes. These types of markets are threatened by a lack of generational relevance, counterfeit products, government regulations, and a lifestyle that prevents younger generations from going shopping in the morning.

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Resistance. Relentless. War economy. This was the landscape of the Joma photography store, a classic in Barcelona's Gràcia neighborhood, with the rapid arrival of digital technologies in a world, ours, so subject to technological evolution. But there was a click, never better said, like the click of the old shutter releases on analog cameras. And the click is 100% related to changing times, changing trends, the emergence of social media. Quite a paradox, indeed: analog technology has re-emerged with force precisely thanks to the advancement of times, the dictatorship of social media, the desire to experiment, to tell different stories, to position oneself in this world with enthusiasm and personality. vintage.

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The department store chain El Corte Inglés closed the 2024-2025 fiscal year (from March 1, 2024, to February 28) with an increase in sales and profit, the company reported in a statement on Thursday. Thus, the group increased its net profit by 6.7% to €512 million, while turnover grew by 2% to €16.675 billion.

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In times of digital dogma, of apocalyptic conceptions about the end of everything that is analogue, even of systematic demonization of any whiff of spirit boomerIt's a great idea to visit Gràfiques Molero, located at Ronda de Sant Pere, 44. Their machinery is almost 100% digital—and what machinery!—but how eloquent and useful it is to listen to the considerations and reflections of siblings Carlos and Olga Urbez.

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European consumers are appealing against Shein for its "deceptive techniques." Twenty-five associations from 21 countries, grouped under the umbrella of the European Consumer Organization (BEUC), have filed a complaint with the European Commission seeking to intervene against the "illegal practices" of the Chinese fast-fashion giant, which offers all kinds of clothing at certain prices.

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New economic boost for trade and crafts. The Department of Business and Employment has announced a new help line endowed with 9.1 million euros for 2025. This call is part of the Competitiveness, Growth and Innovation Plan 2024-2028, a strategic initiative that seeks to strengthen trade, crafts, and fashion in Catalonia.

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–"Audenis, the pianist says the piano is out of tune and that he can't perform the concert like this."

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Good news for bonÀrea, which closed 2024 with a net profit of €88.8 million, a 9.3% increase compared to the previous year. It also achieved revenue of €2.68 billion and created 538 jobs, the company announced in a statement on Tuesday.

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A new client orders fifty picture frames at El Marco de Oro. Okay, no problem. The surprise comes when they discover the shipping address: the IKEA offices in Madrid. Wow, with the huge number of frames they have to sell, it's very telling that they order the framing from outside. They're looking for quality, of course; they need the guarantee of an expert, of someone who works fine, a custom framer who never fails. In commerce, as in life, the unexpected paradox is impressive. And descriptive, above all, very descriptive.

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