Sales still not dropping in terms of quantity in Spain

Spain is one of the leading European markets, with 45 million consumers. In the fourth quarter of 2008, it was still one of the ten European countries where no drop in the quantity of food sold had occurred. The retail sector in Spain shows a high degree of concentration, with 11 stores per 10,000 people. The leading chains in Spanish food retail are El Corte Inglés (EUR 4 billion of food sales in 2007), Carrefour (EUR 10 billion) and Mercadona (over EUR 13 billion). Combined sales of these three companies equal that of the next seven on the top list (Eroski group, Auchan group, Schwarz group with Lidl and Kaufland, , Spar Espanole, DinoSol Supermercados, Miguel Alimentacio group and Unide Sociedad Cooperativa). According to Maria José Blanco from the Spanish Nielsen subsidiary, Mercadona produced the biggest growth in terms of value in 2006 and 2007, with 19 and 20 percent respectively. Carrefour and the Eroski group also produced double digit growth. Retail sales of food were up by 7 percent in 2008 compared to 2007, but growth was slowing down gradually during the year. The rise in average prices showed a similar trend. Over half of the 51 482 stores were still traditional stores in 2008. Only the 1,000-2,499 square meter segment succeeded in increasing its market share. The market share of hyper markets has been declining continuously since 2002, dropping to 21 percent in 2008. The market share of private labels rose throughout 2008, averaging 29.2 percent. The percentage of promotional sales within total sales was also up last year, averaging 25 percent. However, leading brands succeeded in maintaining their market shares even in the fourth quarter of 2008, at around 38 percent.