Half a century of changes in the food retail distribution in Spain (1960-2010). The case of Aragon

Abstract

In the context of limited historical economic studies on the implementation of modern food distribution in Spain, an analysis is made of the main changes in this industry using the case of Aragon over the last half century (1960-2010). A study is presented on the changes in its commercial forms, both wholesalers and retailers, and the declining evolution of local commercial capital due to the growing role of large retail distribution groups. The strong process of corporate concentration and internationalisation of the sector was particularly intense from the 1990s when business mergers accelerated the virtual disappearance of local capital with the growing presence of corporate large retail distributors in Aragon. The Aragonese case shows a remarkable and early presence of foreign investment in major local businesses and later implementation of the large groups. The sector in Aragon, increasingly located in Zaragoza, has specialised in the supermarket format.