The Valencian cooperative Consum is gaining attention in the distribution sector and in the major supermarket chains. This year, the company, led by Antonio Rodríguez Lazaro, who replaced the recently departed Juan Luis Duric as head of Consum, announced the acquisition of nine supermarkets, eight of them from Economy Cash. One company announced its acquisition from Vidal Tiendas. Both brands belong to the same group, Kuups Design International, and their latest results showed a decline of 80.1%.
Meanwhile, Catalan company Fragadis (Spar) has announced the acquisition of 30 more Economy Cash supermarkets, meaning the chain will significantly reduce its store count by more than half from its current 51 stores.
Consum announced on Thursday this week that it will acquire nine supermarkets, eight from Economy Cash and one from Vidal Tiendas, subject to the approval of the National Market and Competition Commission (CNMV). There are 7 of these properties in the Valencia region (Aldaia, Arracas, Massanassa, Sueca, Gandia, Xativa, Torrevieja), 1 in Catalonia (Amposta) and 1 in Murcia (Caravaca de la Cruz).
As with its previous operations, Consum will integrate the entire workforce of the acquired centers (equivalent to 193 people) into its collaborative model, with plans to reach a team of more than 22,000 people by 2024.
So far this year, the cooperative has opened 5 of its own supermarkets and 30 charter franchises, and with the addition of acquired stores, Consum has over 970 stores spread across the Valencia region, Catalonia and Murcia. I’ll be able to finish this year with a network. , Castile-La Mancha, Andalusia, Aragon. With this maneuver, Consum improves its position in the domestic market, reaching a share of 26.5% in the Valencian community.
Read more: Bureaucracy slows Consum Store expansion, strengthens charter franchise network
Among the supermarkets acquired is the first store that Consum opened in Alacas in 1975 and began its journey of cooperation. The new acquired supermarket is scheduled to open next year, when Konsum celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Among them, the brand “Economy Cash”, which has become famous for its overwhelmingly low prices in recent years, “offers high-quality products to everyone at the best prices on the market,” they announced. .
Furthermore, in 2011, the 100% Nudisco-owned company Kuups acquired the Vidal Tiendas Supermercados brand, along with the 16 facilities that were still active and the distribution center in Montaverner (Valencia).
The “Pinatar Park” commercial park in San Pedro del Pinatar was chosen as the location to launch the first Economy Cash on December 1, 2016. Over the next few years, new openings took place in the Valencian community and in various locations in the Murcia region.
According to the company’s website, the last opening took place in 2023 in the Valencian town of Requena. Throughout 2024, the Ontinient (Valencia)-based company has not announced any other acquisitions or openings.
To date, and until the completion of the facility purchase by Consum, Economy Cash operates 51 supermarkets, mainly distributed in three provinces of Valencia, Murcia and Amposta (Tarragona), one of Catalonia. I am. A cooperative in Valencia that competes with Mercadona.
And considering the latest results released by Quaps, the company’s financials aren’t in the best shape. Although the company’s sales, which combine the Economy Cash and Vidal brands, are on the rise (from $148.9 million in sales in 2020 to $167 million in 2022), current liabilities are increasing from 2020 to 2022. It has almost doubled in just two years. According to data extracted from the Insight View application, it increased from 35.5 million euros to 60.2 million euros.
The situation regarding the performance of Alcoy’s company, headed by Miguel Ángel Alcaraz, has also caused a series of setbacks in recent years.
Source: Insight View
In 2020, Kuups Design International announced results worth €298,976, which fell to €190,098 the following year, and in 2022, which ended last year, the company reported a profit of just €37,902. corresponds to a decline of 80.1 euros. %.
Operation Fragadis
In view of this situation, the Catalan company Fragadis (Spar) has also made a move, finalizing the acquisition of 30 Economy Cash supermarkets operated by Quaps Design International. The Tarragona company thus gives a major boost to its expansion in the national territory, expanding its presence throughout the eastern part of the country, where Mercadona reigns.
The sale negotiations, which took place in the last months of 2024, were reached pending confirmation of operations by CNMC and are part of the company’s expansion strategy.
The acquired facilities are located in strategic locations in Castellon, Valencia, Alicante, Albacete and Murcia and aim to achieve “synergies that will help the Group’s growth in the coming years”.
The stores, which became the property of Fragadis through the purchase and sale agreement, will continue to operate under the original Economy Cash banner with “a firm intention to stimulate activity,” the company said.
«This operation is an important milestone in our expansion strategy, strengthening our position across the Spanish Levant over the summer and completing the connection of the Mediterranean arc between the southern province of Barcelona and the Murcia region. represents an important business challenge to grow and develop to become more competitive in the food sector market,” they said in a statement.
Fragadis will set a new growth record in 2024
Fragadis is therefore set to record one of the biggest years of growth in its entire history, thanks to new store openings and the acquisition of 30 new facilities, the latter contributing to a 30% increase in the company’s sales. Contributed.
The acquired supermarket will be a modern facility with a large sales area of 1,000 to 2,000 square meters, and customers will enjoy all the necessary services, including parking.
With the introduction of these new supermarkets, the total area will be 110,000 square meters, which, together with the current area of Fragadis, will reach a total of 280,000 square meters with 218 stores. Meanwhile, Fragadis continues to actively seek new acquisitions in the market, while expanding its store network and continuing its ambitious renovation and modernization plans.
Economic cash workers, who are considered essential personnel, will join the current Fragadis team, and this substitution will bring the team’s staff size to 2,900 professionals.
