Letter from the Governing Council of EROSKI

When I reflected on our performance in 2019 a year ago through these same lines, we were at the height of the Covid-19 health crisis. What happened afterwards and to this day is well known. The health crisis has turned into an economic crisis, straining many sectors of society and many professionals who, from their individual responsibilities, have built bridges and occupied the necessary spaces to maintain social cohesion.

There are never enough opportunities to thank the people who make up EROSKI. The dilemma we faced was not easy, but we made our choice.  The collective interest has always taken precedence over individual welfare. There was no doubt. Thanks to all of you who have made this possible, for your dedication, professionalism, sensitivity and collaboration.

These attributes are part of EROSKI’s cooperative culture. These are the pillars on which we base our approach to such a crisis. The protective measures for converting our stores into a safe working and shopping environment, the solidarity actions we have carried out and our sensitivity towards small producers, which have witnessed the disappearance of some of their most important sales channels, are responses arising from our understanding of the company. Solidarity and cooperation, values which have been more present than ever in our people and have come to the fore at the most complicated moments of society, when they were most required.

The present is full of major challenges and the future is yet to be defined. The only certainty is that at EROSKI we have remained true to the cooperative principles that have led us to demand a lot of ourselves. A project based on proximity to the people in our cooperative project, employees and consumers, who have been the catalysts of our work and actions, in order to be able to adapt together to the consumer needs and habits required by our society.

We will continue to work in order to commit to a customer-centric approach, moving steadily forward in the fulfilment of the 10 Commitments to Health and Sustainability. To offer our customers all the necessary education and information to make the best shopping decisions. Even adapting our channels so they can securely do so telematically. We will continue to promote healthy and sustainable food through the incorporation of organic products and eco-designed packaging. We will maintain our firm commitment to teaching children healthy lifestyle habits through our educational programmes at schools. This also includes innovative perspective as a tool for making the shopping experience more attractive, agile, secure and effective. Everything we do is for our customers, for consumers, most of which are partners of the cooperative. It is our way of understanding commercial relationships, something much more relevant than a mere transaction and which has become particularly important in these times of pandemic.

We are also plased to have our work externally recognised through various awards throughout the year. Two of the most important were the European Citizens Award for EROSKI’s commitment and responsibility in the management of the health crisis and the European Environmental Award for our commitment to the promotion of sustainable fishing. Health and sustainability. Our road map.

In the corporate sphere we also achieved major milestones, such as the launch of ERLAN, a solidarity fund approved by the General Assembly, which will help employee partners who need to make the necessary contribution to the share capital set out in the cooperative’s articles of association in the future. It is a further example of the solidarity and cooperation that emanate from our cooperative principles.

EROSKI is an organisation that is present in people’s daily lives, with a direct influence on the social construction of cities, towns and neighbourhoods. We have responsibilities in the environment in which we operate and we continue committed to them. In this difficult period we have had to live through, we have supported and helped thousands of people. We will continue to work with you, together, to ensure that our consumer cooperative remains a benchmark.

Leire Mugerza
Chairwoman of the Governing Council of EROSKI