Mercadona is opening a new supermarket in Amarante on Thursday, October 22. The company views this opening as “an important milestone” that consolidates its position in the Porto district, according to Notícias ao Minuto. It was precisely in this district that it all began seven years ago, with the country’s first store in Vila Nova de Gaia.
2019: The Launch in Gaia
The chain’s debut in Portugal took place on July 2, 2019, in Canidelo. For that year, the chain had planned to open ten supermarkets, all in the North, and openings were scheduled for July in Matosinhos, Maia, and Gondomar, as reported at the time by Notícias ao Minuto.
Amarante, the next stop
The Amarante store will have a sales area of about 1,900 square meters, according to Echo Boomer. It opens one week after Mercadona’s debut in the Algarve, in Portimão, on October 15, and before another opening in the district: Pedrouços, in Maia, on November 5.
In total, the company plans to open 12 supermarkets in Portugal through 2026 and expand into four districts where it does not yet have a presence.
Seven years later
Mercadona ended 2025 with 69 supermarkets in Portugal and currently employs about 7,500 people in the country, 500 of whom were hired last year. In 2025, it invested 140 million euros in Portugal, according to Notícias ao Minuto.
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