The stereotype of the shoplifter hiding a loaf of bread or a package of pasta under their jacket out of necessity is increasingly distant from the reality of European supermarket aisles. According to an extensive study published by STC – a company specializing in anti-theft systems – in collaboration with technology partners from the Dutch firm Nedap, those who steal products from the shelves today have a specific profile. brand High-value products from well-known brands and a clear target: the black market.

Recently recognized with the Respon.cat 2025 award for her track record in corporate social responsibility, Anna Sorli, administrator of the supermarket chain that bears her family name and has already celebrated its 103rd anniversary, also champions gender equality and the fight against sexism through a foundation. The group, which has gyms in 8 of its 106 stores across Catalonia, reflecting its commitment to health, nutrition, and well-being, closed 2025 with a turnover of €292 million, 2.5% more than the previous year; and an operating profit of €17 million, more than triple that when they began the company's transformation, in which they have invested €104 million over 10 years.

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.

We read in ARA that the Civil Guard, the National Police and the Urban Guard have dismantled, in a joint operation, 24 supermarkets in Barcelona They were stealing streetlights and had rigged scales, but they lacked any anti-smoking measures, licenses, and, of course, exploited people. Like we said before: throw a piece in the wok.

Up to 24 supermarkets in Barcelona were found to be consuming the equivalent of 800 households' electricity. This is the result of a joint operation by the Civil Guard, the National Police, and the Barcelona City Police on December 2nd, which focused on identifying businesses of this type operating fraudulently. One of these practices was tapping into the electricity supply, not from blogs or apartment buildings, but from public streets. Specifically, according to sources consulted by ARA, they were connecting to streetlights and other types of street furniture. This, according to the same sources, poses a significant fire risk. Endesa technicians and officials from the Labor and Social Security departments also participated in the police operation. In total, it is estimated that the identified establishments defrauded the authorities of 2.85 million kilowatt-hours, the equivalent of the annual consumption of 814 homes. The illegal activities of these supermarkets didn't end there: inspections also uncovered tampered scales, expired food, incorrect labeling, unlicensed operations, and a lack of anti-smoking measures. Furthermore, they failed to warn customers about the presence of security cameras.

An incident at a factory in Rubí (Vallès Occidental) has interrupted hummus production at the Rensika plant, one of the main suppliers of this product to several supermarket chains in Spain. According to Radio Rubí, the Rensika plant, located in the Can Fatjó area, has temporarily halted operations. This factory produces hummus and tzatziki for several supermarket and department store companies, including Mercadona, Carrefour, Alcampo, and El Corte Inglés. In the case of Mercadona, it manufactures the hummus that the Valencian group sells under the Hacendado brand. Specifically, Mercadona confirmed to ARA that, for the time being, it does not have hummus available in its stores. "We are working to restore service as soon as possible, but we do not expect to have the product before December," added sources from the chain. Rensika is a Greek multinational company founded in 1990 with a presence in eight European countries, including Spain, according to its website. It produces various types of hummus, tzatziki, falafel, and baba ghanoush, which it sells both as a private label product for supermarkets and under its own brands, Ygriega and Simply Greek.

On average, each Catalan is spending around €738 more per year on food today if their consumption habits haven't changed, compared to January 2020, just before the outbreak of the pandemic. In less than five years, the cost of food has increased by 37% for the average family. The rise in food prices is one of the factors that has most impacted the majority of families, not only in Catalonia but throughout Europe, in the last five years. With the arrival of COVID-19 and the lockdowns in early 2020, the initial concern was the scarcity of certain products in supermarkets, but it soon became clear that these fears were unfounded and that—despite a few isolated exceptions—store supplies continued normally despite the severe shortages. Food prices didn't rise significantly that year.

BonÀrea's expansion beyond Catalonia includes a mandatory stop in Aragon. The Guissona-based company (Segarra) has been building a large-scale production and logistics center in the town of Épila, in the province of Zaragoza, since 2019. This center is intended to supply the company's supermarkets beyond the Catalan market.

The 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.

If Miguel de Unamuno were to resurrect in Barcelona, he would certainly never repeat those oft-paraphrased words of his: "Catalans are doomed by aesthetics." Gaudí, on the other hand, if he were to appear near one of his emblematic monuments, might think they have turned those places "into a shop of thieves." Just a few meters from La Pedrera, he would find enormous shop windows displaying diapers, bottles of alcohol, all kinds of tourist trinkets, and T-shirts with offensive slogans.

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.

Smart supermarkets, where consumers can walk in, grab the products they want, and walk out the door without having to wait in line or interact with anyone, are now a reality in Catalonia. Under the Big Fish brand, created by Grup Moure—a business holding company in the energy and car wash sector with well-known brands such as Elefante Azul, Petronet, and Washnet—and in collaboration with Huawei Cloud as partner technological, have created a new category of their own within the sector retail, known as techtail, "which fuses technology with the basic principles of retail," explains Big Fish.

"Leave Catalonia? No, and now!" This is often the response given over the years by several Catalan supermarket managers when asked if they intended to go out and see the world, or at least to expand their business in the rest of Spain. The distribution sector—and, above all, the food sector—is often closely tied to its territory, with zero-mile policies, values, and proximity that make it difficult to leave the region that protects them. Furthermore, well-known brands are often tied to a specific territory, which can generate hostility when trying to break into the market.

The agri-food group bonÀrea celebrates this Friday with a new opening, bringing its total to 600 stores across Spain, 451 of which are in Catalonia. Last year, the company opened 16 new stores in Catalonia, complementing a total of 36 new openings across Spain. This Friday, with the opening of a new establishment in the town of Pedrola, Zaragoza, the agri-food group now has 600 stores.

The excessive increase in the price of olive oil, which already began to skyrocket last year and earned the nicknameliquid gold, has placed this product among the most stolen in Spanish supermarkets, and, in fact, it is the favorite of thieves in twelve communities, including Catalonia. In this way, the oil makes the overtaking and overthrows alcoholic beverages and liquors, which topped the list of thefts since the first study in 2022.

The supermarket group Ametller Origen has announced the creation of a new hub The project will be the first agro-food company in Mont-Roig del Camp, Baix Camp, with an investment of 50 million euros, the largest in Catalonia in the horticultural sector. The project will cover 100 hectares, half of which will be greenhouses for fruit and vegetable crops and the other half will be used as the new headquarters for the research, development and innovation (R&D&I) area, which is expected to consist of specialised laboratories, tasting rooms and a team of 500.

The supermarket and food company Ametller Origen closed the 2024 financial year with a turnover of 681 million euros, 23% more than last year, as reported by the company itself in a statement on Wednesday. This figure represents the highest sales volume that the group has recorded since its founding in 2001.

The emergency plan to deal with the economic consequences derived from the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine hides more than one hitherto unknown legislative change. The regulation, which has been published by the Official State Gazette (BOE) this Wednesday, includes that supermarkets may limit the amount of products buyers can purchase. Specifically, it amends the Retail Trade Ordinance and establishes that "in the event of extraordinary circumstances", commercial establishments may "temporarily suspend the ban on limiting the quantity of items that can be purchased", according to the BOE.

The desire to consume whatever it is and to receive it at home the sooner the better are behind the rise in dark supermarkets. These are small warehouses distributed around the city that do not sell to the public but supply deliverymen who then take the orders – by bicycle, scooter or motorbike – to our front door. A multinational has decided to open one of these stores in the quiet Xile backstreet, where the district of Les Corts meets Hospitalet, and has put the neighbours on the warpath. "Pedestrians have priority on this street, and we do not understand how you can open a store like this," complains Òscar Tapioles, one of those affected. The company seeks to attract customers by claiming delivery is "ultra-fast", in a matter of "minutes". And it is this immediacy that the neighbours fear, who in their nightmares already see the motorcycles circulating at full speed through the street where peace now reigns. Another of those affected, Jordi Gràcia, warns: "If they open the dark supermarket, we will make it difficult". But nothing suggests that the store, which already has its goods inside, will not end up opening.

The year of the pandemic has been the year of mass consumption. It's all good news for the retail sector: household spending and the size of the market basket have increased, all shopping channels are growing, local shops have been revived and electronic shopping is on the increase. All this in a year in which Mercadona, Carrefour and Dia have lost market share. The three chains are still among the supermarkets where most people shop in Spain, but Dia loses third place to Lidl.