How Spanish retail and distribution buy
How Spain's grocery, department-store and pharmacy channels buy, what the agency law says, and which trade fairs fall in 2027 and 2028.
Spanish retail and distribution buy through a small number of large channels, each with its own supplier model. In grocery, Mercadona held 27.2% of the market in the first months of 2026, according to Worldpanel by Numerator as reported by FoodRetail.es. El Corte Inglés registers suppliers through its own portal and audits its own-brand suppliers with AENOR, and pharmacy distribution is led by pharmacist-owned cooperatives. Spain regulates commercial agency in Ley 12/1992 but has no general statute for distribution contracts.
For a manufacturer that plans Spain as one of its European markets, each channel sets a different first step.
How concentrated is Spanish grocery retail?
Concentrated at the top. Worldpanel by Numerator, formerly Kantar Worldpanel, put Mercadona’s share of Spanish grocery at 27.2%, stable, in data for the first months of 2026. The trade title FoodRetail.es reported the data. In the same period, Lidl, Dia and Aldi gained share, while Carrefour and Ahorramas lost share.
For a supplier, a chain with more than a quarter of the market is one decision with a large reach, and one point of dependence. How European retail chains buy sets out the general pattern.
How does Mercadona work with its suppliers?
Through long-term supplier relationships, as trade press describes them. Revista Mercados reports that Mercadona’s interproveedor model was built on exclusive, long-term manufacturers for its categories, including own-brand lines. From 2019, the model evolved into the broader totaler supplier model. In that account, Mercadona describes the shift as moving from managing categories to managing products. The supplier base grew from about 120 interproveedores to around 1,400 to 1,500 totaler suppliers.
This is the model as trade press reports it; Mercadona’s own supplier information is the reference for current terms. For a manufacturer, the frame for a first conversation is a long-term supply relationship for a specific product.
How does a supplier start with El Corte Inglés?
Through its supplier portal. El Corte Inglés runs a dedicated B2B portal for suppliers, organised in three parts. They are registration and qualification (Alta y Cualificación), how the group works with suppliers (Cómo trabajamos), and access to its centres (Acceso a Centros). The detailed requirements sit behind the supplier login.
For own-brand work, the group applies audits run by AENOR to its marca propia suppliers, as announced on its corporate news page. A manufacturer aiming to make own-brand products for El Corte Inglés prepares for that audit. Private label in Europe: winning retailer deals covers the wider pattern.
Who distributes to Spanish pharmacies?
Mostly pharmacist-owned cooperatives. The trade title PlantaDoce reported the leading pharmaceutical wholesalers’ market shares for 2021.
- Cofares, about 29.2% in 2021. A cooperative with 100% pharmaceutical capital, founded in 1944, with about 11,971 member pharmacies in 2021.
- Bidafarma, 21.74% in 2021. Formed in 2016 from the merger of twelve regional pharmacy cooperatives, with 100% pharmaceutical capital.
- Hefame, 11.05% in 2021.
- Alliance Healthcare, 10.37% in 2021.
These are 2021 figures, and current shares are checked before a plan relies on them. For a manufacturer of pharmacy products, the point is structural: the two largest wholesalers are owned by the pharmacists they supply.
What does Spanish law say about agents and distributors?
Spain regulates commercial agency in Ley 12/1992 on the agency contract. Three articles matter most to a manufacturer.
- Article 7. Unless agreed otherwise, an agent may work for several principals. Exclusivity is not part of the definition; it has to be agreed.
- Article 28. On termination, the agent may be owed a goodwill indemnity, the indemnización por clientela, where it brought new customers or significantly increased business with existing ones. It is capped at the average annual remuneration over the last five years.
- Article 29. A separate indemnity for damages applies where an indefinite-term agency contract is terminated early without justification.
Distribution is different. Spain has no dedicated statute for general distribution contracts outside the motor-vehicle sector. Legal commentary by Navarro Llima Abogados describes Supreme Court doctrine. Under it, courts apply the agency rules to a distributor by analogy only where there is a genuine identity of reason, not automatically. One example is a clientele created and owned for the manufacturer’s benefit. The distribution contract itself therefore carries most of the weight. Commercial agent, or a managed route? sets out the choice at EU level.
Main Spanish trade fairs
Two Barcelona fairs are relevant to food and beauty manufacturers.
- Alimentaria Barcelona is biennial. Its official site lists the next edition for 20 to 23 March 2028.
- Cosmobeauty Barcelona is listed by trade-fair directories, including Eventseye, for 10 to 12 April 2027.
Dates are confirmed with the organiser before any booking. More fairs by sector are in European trade fairs for manufacturers.
Worked example: a skincare maker sorting Spanish channels
Suppose a maker of skincare products from outside the EU plans Spain as one of its first European markets. Its stock is released for free circulation on arrival in Portugal. The details are hypothetical, for the mechanics only.
It sorts the Spanish channels by buying model. For department stores, it registers through the El Corte Inglés supplier portal and keeps the own-brand option, with its AENOR audit, for later. For pharmacy, it maps which cooperative wholesalers serve the pharmacies it wants, starting from the 2021 shares and checking current ones. For grocery, it notes that a Mercadona conversation, as trade press describes the model, concerns a long-term supply relationship for a product. It plans a visit to Cosmobeauty in April 2027.
On contracts, it compares a Spanish agent, with the Article 28 goodwill indemnity in view, against a distributor. For a distributor, the contract governs and agency rules apply by analogy only in some cases. Spanish labelling and producer registrations are covered in selling into Spain from stock in Portugal.
What does the manufacturer check before approaching Spanish buyers?
- The channel to start with, and that channel’s supplier model.
- For El Corte Inglés, portal registration, and audit readiness for own-brand work.
- For pharmacy, the cooperative or wholesaler serving the target pharmacies, with current shares checked.
- The contract type, agent or distributor, and the exposure under Articles 28 and 29 of Ley 12/1992 if it is agency.
- Trade fair dates confirmed with the organiser.
- Spanish labelling and producer registrations in place before the first delivery.
Contract terms with a Spanish chain or distributor are for the manufacturer’s own lawyers to confirm. How Spanish chains and distributors buy is general practice, and none of it amounts to legal advice.
How EFC maps Spanish buyers and ships their orders
EFC’s base in Portugal, run with its logistics partner, holds stock inside the EU. After release for free circulation, it ships the stock to trade buyers in Spain and across Europe. In its business development work, EFC does the mapping, the rating, the approach work and the ongoing management of the market. The client decides which buyers are approached and what is said to them. The client also decides what commercial terms are offered and which contracts it signs. EFC does not act as a commercial agent and gives no legal advice.
Sources
| Label | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Grocery shares | Mercadona 27.2%, stable; Lidl, Dia and Aldi gained share; Carrefour and Ahorramas lost share; Worldpanel by Numerator data | FoodRetail.es, Lidl, Dia, Consum and Aldi in the first four months of 2026, opened 2026-09-23 |
| Mercadona supplier model | interproveedor model evolved from 2019 into the totaler model; about 120 interproveedores to around 1,400 to 1,500 totaler suppliers, as reported by trade press | Revista Mercados, from 120 interproveedores to 1,400 totaler suppliers, opened 2026-09-23 |
| El Corte Inglés portal | supplier portal: Alta y Cualificación, Cómo trabajamos, Acceso a Centros | El Corte Inglés, supplier portal, opened 2026-09-23 |
| Own-brand audits | AENOR audits for marca propia suppliers | El Corte Inglés, audits with AENOR for own-brand suppliers, opened 2026-09-23 |
| Pharmacy distribution, 2021 | Cofares about 29.2%, Bidafarma 21.74%, Hefame 11.05%, Alliance Healthcare 10.37%; Cofares founded 1944, about 11,971 members; Bidafarma formed 2016 from twelve cooperatives | PlantaDoce, the leaders of pharmaceutical distribution in Spain, opened 2026-09-23 |
| Agency law | Ley 12/1992, Article 7 several principals; Article 28 goodwill indemnity, five-year average cap; Article 29 damages for unjustified early termination | BOE, Ley 12/1992 on the agency contract, opened 2026-09-23 |
| Distribution contracts | no general statute outside motor vehicles; agency rules by analogy only with identity of reason | Navarro Llima Abogados, agency law applied to distribution, opened 2026-09-23 |
| Alimentaria | biennial; next edition 20 to 23 March 2028 | Alimentaria, official site, opened 2026-09-23 |
| Cosmobeauty | 10 to 12 April 2027, as listed by trade-fair directories | Eventseye, Cosmobeauty Barcelona, opened 2026-09-23 |