Mercadona (, ) is a Spanish supermarket chain. Mercadona has 1,636 stores in all the 17 Spanish regions, Ceuta, Melilla and in Portugal. Mercadona was ranked the 9th most reputable company in the world in 2009, by the Reputation Institute as listed in Forbes magazine. Francisco Roig Ballester and his wife, Trinidad Alfonso Mocholi, founded the company in 1977, which began as a small butcher shop in Tavernes Blanques, a village in Valencia. Juan Roig assumed the role of CEO in 1981, and the company has since expanded nationwide. In the 1990s, Juan Roig oversaw a series of changes companywide and revealed the new façade of Mercadona which was able to compete with its French competitor Carrefour and the co-operative Eroski. History Since its days as a butcher shop in 1977, Mercadona expanded to eight stores in 1981, and 1,148 stores as of October 2013, with more on the way. The chain has had an online shop since 2001, which accounted for one percent of total sales in 2010. Today it holds 13.5% of Spain's total food retail space and brought in more than €508 million in profits for the 2012 fiscal year. CEO Juan Roig plans to bring Mercadona to Italy or France but may modify his Spanish model of business to compete in the new markets. He was quoted in the Economist saying, "We must learn everything from everyone". The Mercadona Management Committee approved in 2016, the start of the expansion in Portugal, the first supermarket in Vila Nova de Gaia opened their doors in July 2019. Ownership Juan Roig is the CEO and major shareholder (50%), his wife Hortensia Herrero owns 30%, and his brother Fernando Roig owns 9%. They are all billionaires. There is another partner, Rafael Gómez Gómez, which holds 7% of the company. Business model Mercadona dedicates much of its resources to eliminating unnecessary costs in its packaging. According to the Economist, the chain has saved €2.2 billion by reducing packaging materials. This included opting out of a glossy finish on packaging which company leaders deemed unnecessary, and adding a plastic lid to a can of tuna, making it easier to open and more appealing to purchase. Mercadona does not spend capital resources on advertising or marketing campaigns, yet another method of cutting costs. It instead relies on word of mouth and free social media to promote and maintain its brand. Their Twitter, Facebook,