Consum Supermarkets invoiced a total of 4,388.7 million euros in 2023, a growth of 13.6% compared to the previous year. With these figures, the company exceeds 101 million euros in profit, 75% more than the previous year, when the cooperative registered a drop in the same indicator of 15%.
The new general director of the Valencian company, Antonio Rodríguez Lázaro, presented results this Tuesday in Valencia, where he highlighted that 2023 has been a year “marked by inflation, especially in prices at source.” The improvement in price competitiveness and the growth of customer loyalty are some of the factors that according to Rodríguez have boosted the cooperative's accounts. Savings on the energy bill have also been key to obtaining these results. Last year, the company closed an agreement with Endesa that will provide them, over the next 10 years, with completely renewable energy to cover 50% of the supermarket chain's electricity demand.
The cooperative has cut its gross margin to contain prices: “We have had to adjust the distribution margins to be competitive and not lose market; We solved it by being more efficient,” said Rodríguez Lázaro. During the year, sales from the online channel have also increased, up to 10%, which represents a total of 73.6 million euros, 1.7% of total sales, a percentage, all in all, 0.3 points lower than the previous year.
The online channel, although a minority for the company, has grown enough in Valencia and its metropolitan area to address a change in model. For this reason, they are looking for a location in the metropolitan area to locate their operational center. “Our intention is to open it in 2025, that will produce a significant improvement in costs, but we are still looking for the area,” declared the general director. The Cooperative's online store already provides service in 431 towns.
The manager has also explained that there has been an investment of 23 million euros in innovation projects, mainly aimed at the implementation in 90 supermarkets of self-payment checkouts, digital tickets and labels and implementation of procedures for workers.
Likewise, Consum created 1,879 new jobs in 2023, reaching a workforce of 21,216 workers, 9.7% more than the previous year. Of the total, 96% are members, permanent or members in a trial period. A total of 71.7 million euros were distributed to them in 2023, of which 35.8 million correspond to the distribution of cooperative results and 35.9 million to bonuses for objectives.
