Mercadona reduces price of 500 products and blames suppliers for price rise

The company affirms that with this measure customers will be able to save up to €150 in their annual shopping carts. Mercadona has announced its decision to adjust its sales prices from this month of April on 500 of its daily consumer products until the end of the year. 

The initiative, according to Mercadona, does not affect “the quality of the products and guarantees the sustainability of the entire food chain (suppliers, productive sector, company and workers)” and “will mean savings for customers of €200 million between now and the end of the year” with an “impact on the company’s profit margin of -0.6 points, which are added to the reduction made by the company of -1.1 points since 2020 to minimise the significant increase in cost prices at origin and in the industry”.

The president of Mercadona, Juan Roig, acknowledged in March that prices had risen by “a nonsense” level to avoid a disaster in the chain. 

In 2022, the company’s sales grew by 11% and its profit reached €718 million, 5.6% more than in 2021. The president of the supermarket chain assures that the company has faced expenses « unimaginable” during this year and, as causes, he has pointed to the war in Ukraine, inflation, product shortages, drought or the energy crisis.

Suppliers, according to Roig, have raised prices at source by 12% and Mercadona has passed it on, on average, by 10%. There are two points of difference that translate into a cut of 0.6 points in their margins which, however, remain above 20%. Roig acknowledged not knowing when prices will stop rising, but ruled out limiting them.