Eroski
 | |
| Type | Sociedad Cooperativa |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Number of locations | 1,001 total locations |
| Products | Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, general grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks, liquor, floral, package holidays, petrol |
| Parent | Mondragón |
| Website | Eroski.es |
Eroski is a Spanish supermarket chain with nearly 1,000 outlets spread across Spain (excluding franchises). It is run as a worker-consumer hybrid co-operative within the Mondragón Corporation group. The establishments vary in size from the largest hypermarkets, simply named 'Eroski' (of which there are 75 stores, including 40 with petrol stations), down to smaller 'Eroski Center' stores (473, including 2 petrol stations). There are also 219 'Eroski City' outlets and 234 'Eroski Viajes' travel agent centres. The group's total sales floor space is approximately 1,500,000 square metres (16,145,866 sq ft). The name Eroski is a combination of the Basque words "erosi" (to buy) and "toki" (place), which can be translated as "buying place".
History
The company was founded in 1969 in the regions of Biscay and Gipuzkoa in Spain as a co-operative between ten supermarkets in the region. Its headquarters located in Elorrio, Biscay.
Franchises
Aliprox supermarkets are not owned by Eroski, despite having a similar logo. Instead, Aliprox is the brand for franchises. These outlets are independently owned, but still maintain the same product ranges, sales policies and general standard expected throughout the company. There are presently 553 franchised outlets.
Finances
- The group's profits in 2004 reached €129 million.
- This compares to €70 million in 2000.
- Nearly €2 billion has been invested since 2000 on opening new stores.
Staff
- In 2004, staff numbers exceeded 30,000 for the first time.
- Nearly 7,000 new positions have been created in the last four years.
Growth
Brand
These names replace the former hierarchy of 'Eroski', 'Maxi', 'Consum' and 'Charter', the latter of which was the name reserved for smaller franchise stores. This rebranding took place during the course of 2003-2004 in an effort to re-focus the company as the many different names confused customers. Indeed, regardless of the name over the door, customers inevitably referred to the shops as 'Eroski', not Maxi or Charter. Under the new name, consumers are referring to the company correctly.
By country
Spain
Eroski recently purchased Caprabo, adding around 500 supermarkets to the chain.
France
Having taken a strong grip over the Spanish mainland, especially in the Basque Country from where the company originates. It is now expanding into France. They have three hypermarkets, eighteen supermarkets and seven petrol stations in the country at this time.
Alongside this, they also own the Forum Sport store chain, 172 perfume shops and six cash and carry outlets.
A merger with the Valencia-based co-operative Consum lasted only a few years. In 2005, each went their own way.
Figures correct as of July 2005.
See also
- Supermarkets in Spain
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eroski. |
- Eroski Group Website (Spanish, Catalan, Basque and Galician)
- Consumer Eroski magazine.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||