Located on Alameda Pêro da Covilhã, in the City Centre of Covilhã, this new supermarket marks a strategic debut for the Spanish brand, marking its arrival in the Castelo Branco district.

The space has a sales area of 1,900 m², equipped with the usual delicatessen, fishmonger, ready-to-eat and bakery sections, and has created 65 new local jobs with permanent contracts from day one, bringing the company's total number of employees in the country to over 7,500.

This investment comes at a time of strong financial consolidation for the chain in Portugal, which recorded profits of €26 million in 2025, more than tripling the results of the previous year. In the last fiscal year, Mercadona's sales in the Portuguese market rose 18%, reaching

€2.092 billion, driven by the opening of nine new stores and the operation of the Almeirim logistics centre, the largest in the Iberian Peninsula.

Since entering Portugal in 2019, the group has invested more than €1.23 billion, maintaining a network of approximately 1,000 national suppliers from whom it purchased products worth €1.5 billion last year alone.

Mercadona's strategy for 2026 remains focused on proximity and job quality, consolidating Portugal as its sole international market.

With the opening of the Covilhã unit, the company reaffirms its commitment to expanding into the interior of the country, ensuring that 85% of its products come from Iberian suppliers. This new milestone in the Beira Baixa region demonstrates the resilience of the retailer's business model, which has transformed the Portuguese operation into an engine of profitability and sustained growth within the group led by Juan Roig.