Mercadona is the undisputed queen among Spanish supermarket chains. This is proved by its market share, 25.3%, according to the latest Kantar ranking. However, in recent years, the series headed by Juan Roig had its own Achilles heel: online channel,
The words uttered by Mercadona’s president in 2017 still resonate, when he assured that “our website is rubbish”. Something like this has already been recorded in history thanks to the ideas of Juana Rog, General Director of Mercadona Online. ,it was convert or die, Or shouldn’t be born, rather,” Juana said of her father’s statement.
It is clear that Juana Rog has succeeded in transforming the online sphere of Mercadona. In 2021 he achieved 510 million euros through this channel, which was 2% of total sales. For 2022, the company has announced that it expects to end the year with a turnover of close to 530 million euros.
Some consequences that upset the youngest daughter of Juan’s disease. According to Juana Roig on the Itnig Business Accelerator podcast, “When you have Mercadona behind you, it’s a lot easier to sell.” Furthermore, he notes that “325 million is a lot of money but if you look at the figures we are 1% of the group’s sales,
However, Mercadona continues to pursue Juana’s plans despite having made the jump online in only 5 years. According to data handled by the General Director of the sector, the online sales figure today represents 1.7% of the group’s total sales, a value “too small for what is being talked about.” But, for the foreseeable future, The intention is to increase this percentage to 5%,
They currently service between 8,000 and 9,000 orders every day, and they believe that Mercadona Online’s biggest competitor is Mercadona itself.
Mercadona’s big challenge for 2023, according to experts: Avoid losing customers to unstoppable price increases
However, the genesis of Mercadona Online is based on a model that did not work internally. “What we tried to do inside didn’t come out, so we took it out, like a By-product, But with a model similar to Mercadona”, explains Juana Rog.
Part of the success of Mercadona Online is based on the methodology that Gambling Rogue has implemented. It is a business model with startup methodology and based on online sales. An example of this innovation is its famous beehive. They are over 10,000 square meters of warehouse in which online orders are prepared, processed and delivered.
The first of these hives was built in Barcelona in 2018. Since then, 4 more have been installed in Madrid, Valencia, Alicante and Seville, the last one costing 25 million euros. These warehouses serve areas with a high density of online orders,
“Mercadona is the online sales channel that lets customers shop at home,” he says. In addition, it details that much of the technology developed by the company is under the management of the online subsidiary, which in turn hangs from the technology division, Mercadona Tech.
In addition to hives, Mercadona also provides online service in other areas with another order preparation model called Juana Roga Telesales. however, This model is not profitable today, Although the supermarket chain prefers physical purchases to online purchases, the average ticket through this channel is very high: around 140 euros.
These telesales faced losses, hives generate 6 euro per profit request, In 2022, they placed 2.2 million orders, so the startup’s profits exceeded 13 million euros.
However, the buying model is very different for physical stores as compared to the online world. “We don’t ship same day, we don’t go short shopping, Let’s go for planned shopping“, explain.
But, part of the fact that these purchases are so huge is due to shipping costs. Mercadona charges 7.21 Euro for the shipment. “I don’t win if a customer wants something from me every time, we have a minimum order of 50 Euros because we cover the labor costs there,” Instructions details.
Justify these higher costs by inflation. ,if i win 6 euro i’m in troubleThat now with the increase in CPI I’m going to 5, and we’re losing a few units per cart”, he confirmed.
,The important thing is that the customer remains in Mercadona and there is no loss of money by any means, In places where there is a lot of online power, we go to a special online model of the beehive, where there is little coexistence with physical stores, something that is difficult, even if small amounts, because for us It’s a very small amount and a lot of trouble,” explains Juana. Disease.
With this separation, the group manages to promote the technical part both online and in physical stores thanks to a team of more than 800 people dedicated exclusively to the stores. One of the services they have created is an application for managing stock, at the point of “counting cans of tomatoes”.
Juana Roig, Mercadona’s potential successor: “The most important thing I’ve done in my career is that I want to be my parents’ daughter”
The name of gambling disease has been flying for years her father’s successor, Her good work in the online part of the series has earned her points, thanks to which she is able to face the challenge.
During the interview, Juana Roig confirmed that she has not applied to fill the position, which is currently unoccupied. “When that time comes, we’ll see. Mercadona is a huge challenge,
However, he does not decline the invitation either. “We’ll see the person who is most prepared at that time.” Furthermore, following his father’s line, Juana has confirmed that the company “has neither been sold nor will it go public, at least as long as the current shareholders continue. will sell nothing without,
Juana Roeg also wanted to talk about the label of being ‘the daughter of’. “It’s a stick that has its good and bad parts, and you can’t half the stick. You have the label, you know it and that’s it,” he says.
Furthermore, he exemplifies this by comparing himself to Marta Ortega. “I remember when Marta Ortega passed by and everyone was like ‘look at her, like that’.” But, unlike other successors, Juana’s disease confirms that “The most important thing I have done in my career is that I am my parents’ daughter,
