Mercadona users debate quality and rising prices

Mercadona: From word-of-mouth praise to a battleground

Is it still worth shopping at Mercadona? A few years ago, the answer seemed obvious. Juan Roig’s chain had built its fruta on word of mouth, offering decent products, controlled prices, and sufficient variety. By September 2013, the narrative has flipped. For several debaters, the model supermarket has become "a kind of war zone supermarket, with a single brand, outrageous prices, and declining quality," according to one user.

This is not an isolated complaint. The accusation repeats with nuances: less variety, suppliers changing month by month, and a private label that no longer justifies the alucinación.

Why Mercadona product quality is criticized

The most repeated reproach targets the white label line. Hacendado, Deliplus, Bosque Verde. It is claimed that sliced bread was once made by Panrico but now comes from a fourth-tier company; that perfumery brand oils caused issues during summer; that walnuts used to come from California but now arrive from Africa, with much of the sack going straight to the trash. The "fresh" meat and fish, they add, are an insult to any palate not numbed.

Some argue the opposite. In some stores, Central Lechera Asturiana products —yogurts, creams, butter— can be found, debunking the thesis that the chain has erased all known brands. Others respond that Mercadona’s fish is acceptable, even better than other chains, noting that in their city there is no fishmonger within 500 meters. Another user points to origins: he claims white label fish arrives from Namibia or Egypt fishing grounds and passes through Zaragoza airport before reaching the fridge.

The calculation: how much money leaves your town

Here lies the most uncomfortable argument. A calculation circulating in the debate, backed only by the person proposing it, holds that large chains do not create local wealth but drain it. The example is simple: if a town employee earns 10,000 euros a year and sells 240,000 euros in goods, the difference —230,000 net euros— leaves the municipality every year. That money stops being spent in neighboring shops. And Mercadona, it is added, is the supermarket with the highest revenue per seller, enlarging the leakage.

The conclusion writes itself: "of every 240,000 euros that strip your town annually, they leave a crumb of 10,000," in the words of the same user. The item-by-item breakdown is at the origin of the discussion and shows a disparity that chills.

Is Mercadona cheaper or more expensive than others?

It depends on who you ask, and that is the striking part. Some claim nothing is cheaper within 50 kilometers, while others reply that in Asturias, within a 500-meter radius, there is not a single more expensive supermarket. Not Lidl, nor Alimerka, nor Árbol.

The data cited to settle the matter is milk: 59 or 60 cents per unit buying the whole box, 62 or 63 if bought singly. Prices that are no longer those that made the chain famous. On known brands, the difference with other surfaces, they say, is glaringly stark.

Mercadona and local products: Asturias and Basque Country

One of the harshest reproaches concerns proximity products. It is stated that in Asturias centers, there is not a single Central Lechera Asturiana product, nor a local dairy brand, and even the whipped cream sold is of Belgian origin. In the Basque Country, an aisle with local products is being negotiated, and until these open, many cross to Cantabria to shop.

The response is that supply varies greatly by area. In the Valencian Community, for instance, Central Lechera products do exist. Others maintain that the key lies in each zone and how entry was negotiated in each one.

The future: automation, suppliers, and prices

The debate widens when employment enters the picture. It is said that the central warehouse in Catalonia is moving to Abrera with an automated distribution plant, which will reduce staff. Those remaining will be compensated with a negative raise: an average 20% salary cut. And prices, they say, will rise slightly more.

In parallel, the relationship with suppliers is described as an unequal struggle. When your client is infinitely larger than you, negotiation is never between equals: it is a forced swallow. Some manufacturers would have accepted minimal margins and investments demanded by the chain, resulting in crushing debts.

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In the end, the discussion resembles the usual one: some point to the shopping basket as an act of militancy, while others remind us that the pocket does not understand principles. Let everyone shop where they want, naturally. Although it is worth remembering that the word of mouth that elevated Mercadona was not built by a marketing campaign, but by its own customers. The same ones who now go elsewhere.