The lawyer and former politician Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida will be the new president of Asedas, the employers' association of the distribution and supermarket sector. The association has agreed to the appointment in its general council this Thursday. The 70-year-old manager will replace Antonio Garrigues Walker, who becomes honorary president.
In the election, the "great personal and professional career" of Duran i Lleida was taken into account, with political responsibilities from the local to the European level, "among which his parliamentary and international work stands out". This experience is seen as essential to "provide an experience and vision that will help defend interests as broad as those represented by the Asedas companies, among which dialogue and the search for consensus stand out," it said in a statement.
His figure will reinforce and give continuity to the work of the association, with more than 20 years. As a whole, Asedas brings together more than 19,000 stores, 322,000 jobs and represents 75% of the food distribution area. Its associates include Mercadona, Dia, Condis, Lidl, Ifa, Spar, Plusfresc, Masymas, AhorraMas or Coviran, among others. Duran i Lleida has valued the importance of the sector as a creator of employment and wealth, "fundamental for the territorial structure of Spain and essential for the daily life of citizens".
The new president has also pointed out that he intends to reinforce the work and presence of Asedas on the legal front, at a time of "intense legislative activity at the regional, national and European level", with issues such as the circular economy, consumption or the commercial relations in the center. The sector is experiencing a moment of change today accelerated by a multifactorial crisis.
"The figure of Duran i Lleida represents not only the values that try to inspire the decisions of Asedas since its foundation, more than twenty years ago, but also its present objectives", have assured the companies of the association. “Our businessmen have valued his involvement with the legislative, economic and social challenges that the sector faces; which, together with the conciliatory and dialogue spirit that has always inspired his career, will be of great help to us in the coming years to continue advancing in a distribution model of proximity at the service of society", has influenced Ignacio García Magarzo, general director of Asedas.
The appointment means that Antonio Garrigues Walker will become the honorary chairman. "We are very grateful to a key person in the Spanish and international legal world, for his advice, his support and his closeness to the reality of Spanish supermarkets in recent years", García Magarzo pointed out.
