Mercadona remains the undisputed king of Andalucia’s supermarket sector, but a wave of acquisitions and expansion by regional chains is reshaping the retail landscape across southern Spain.

A new report by industry analyst Alimarket shows that Andalucia ended 2025 with 4,495 food retail outlets and nearly 2.8million square metres of retail space, cementing its position as one of Spain’s most competitive grocery markets.

While the familiar trio of Mercadona, Carrefour and Dia continue to dominate, local players are expanding rapidly in an effort to challenge the national and international giants.

Mercadona still number one

Valencia-based supermarket chain Mercadona retained its position as Andalucia’s largest food retailer, accounting for 20% of all supermarket floor space in the region.

Mercadona operates 346 stores across Andalucia and is the leading chain in six of the region’s eight provinces.

Only Huelva and Jaen buck the trend, where local chains El Jamon and Luis Piña respectively hold the top spot.

Mercadona invested almost €125million in Andalucia during 2025, including €80million in store upgrades and the expansion of its Ready to Eat food section.

It also created 1,000 new jobs during the year and now employs more than 21,950 people across the region.

Local chains on the offensive

But one of the biggest developments came from Huelva-based El Jamon, which climbed to fourth place in the regional rankings after acquiring Cordoba supermarket group Piedra.

The deal increased El Jamon’s retail space by 20% and expanded its network to 363 stores and around 5,000 employees.

The company now controls 8.9% of Andalucia’s supermarket floor space and has ambitions of reaching €1billion in annual turnover by 2027.

Meanwhile, Sevilla-based Grupo MAS looks set to overtake El Jamon after its acquisition of Malaga supermarket chain Maskom earlier this year.

The deal adds 54 stores, 950 employees and €143million in annual revenue to Grupo MAS, pushing the company close to €900million in combined turnover and more than 250 supermarkets.

Discount chains surge

While the biggest players expanded steadily, discount retailers Lidl and Aldi recorded some of the strongest growth rates.

Lidl increased its store count to 144 locations and expanded its sales space by more than 4%.

Aldi opened eight new stores in Andalucia during 2025, bringing its total to 112 and giving it a 4.3% share of the region’s supermarket floor space.

Granada-based cooperative Coviran also continued its expansion, opening 22 new stores and maintaining one of the largest retail networks in the region.

With 865 stores across Spain and Portugal, it remains one of the country’s largest food retail cooperatives.

New players enter the market

The sector also saw fresh competition arrive from outside Andalucia.

Catalan retailer Fragadis entered the region through the acquisition of Lider Aliment, adding 44 stores across Sevilla, Huelva, Cadiz and Cordoba.

Elsewhere, Cadiz-based Ruiz Galan strengthened its position in Campo de Gibraltar by purchasing four stores from Saginver.

The moves reflect growing consolidation within the supermarket sector as retailers seek scale to compete against larger national chains.

Supermarket sector keeps growing

According to the report, Andalucia added 12 net new food retail outlets during 2025 and increased its supermarket floor space by almost 37,000 square metres.

A total of 141 new stores opened across the region, although 129 others closed.

The region now accounts for 18.2% of all new supermarket floor space created in Spain.

Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.