Letter from Leire Mugerza 

If I were forced to offer a headline for these short lines, thanks would most likely be the word that best surmises what is to follow. Thanks to the teams of people who make up EROSKI for their effort, for their dedication and for their passion.  

The contribution of people, like I say, has been essential to understanding the way in which our organisation has responded to a period clearly marked by high inflation of food products. Simplistic and populist messages only prevents public opinion from being able to distinguish between different business activities, because there is no distinction between sectors and no discrimination between some companies and others. These words serve to assert the fact that one model is different from another. At times, we tend to lose sight of the fact that EROSKI is an association of consumers, a cooperative of consumers, and this is a clear differentiating factor in the sector. Because everything that is generated is distributed among the owners, who are the consumer members and working members. We make decisions and approach the business management taking into account the perspective of both groups, because both are part of the decision-making process. It is the reality that looking for a balanced distribution of wealth generated by a distribution company is a differential factor in how we make decisions and how we apply them and this is proven by our actions as well as our words. This is who we are and this serves as a roadmap to understanding why we behave the way we do.  

Because the consumer is our starting point, over this period, we have made great efforts not to pass on cost increases to the public in full, reducing the profit margin of the company, which ultimately belongs to its 9,500 employee members and the company in which its profits are reinvested.  

Transparency of information 

One of the ways we show our commitment to consumers and to society, is with the 10 commitments to health and sustainability, which frame many of the actions defined jointly with thousands of consumers, explicitly stated and shared between everyone. Transparency with consumers, our partners, is one of them.  

The same transparency that we apply in the transfer of previous messages, exists when we offer our range of products in stores. The demand for information from consumers in the configuration of the shopping basket is one of the most distinctive features in these new times. Confidence in tangible elements like product or intangibles like brands has gained importance for the consumer when it comes to defining their shopping habits. This is an essential factor for EROSKI. Proof of this can be seen in the two new labelling systems we have introduced in 2022. The first, a pioneering system in domestic food distributions, shows us simply and visually the overall impact of a certain product on the environment. An initiative that will be enriched by the opinions of the thousands of consumers EROSKI has asked.  

The second label relates to the organisation’s commitment to more ethical and sustainable food with animal welfare at its core: an internal classification system that helps identify the characteristics of the raising of chicken and facilitates access to information and fosters the necessary critical spirit that helps us progress as a society.  

Social commitment 

If 2022 has stood out for anything it is having witnessed the outbreak of a bloody war that has affected the heart of Europe and thousands of people, including entire families and children. There is no relief possible for those who have lost everything, but here at EROSKI we wanted to contribute to the work being done on the ground by organisations like UNICEF to rescue those effected. Once again, customers put their hands in their pocket to contribute over 560,000 euros to the emergency humanitarian campaign. This is not the first time and, unfortunately, it will not be the last, but we will always act because solidarity is not a once off action but is part of who we are.  

Cooperativism. Not the destination but the path 

Allow me to dedicate the final lines of this letter to the business model that has undoubtedly placed EROSKI in the position it now holds. A fair and democratic model that promotes equality and diversity; that generates and distributes wealth on an equitable basis. A model in which we firmly believe. Our model. Being a cooperative boosts the values we want to commit to society. Everything we do, from our commercial offering to our 10 Commitments to Health and Sustainability, we do because we are a cooperative. Alliances that make us stronger. We come together to multiply our contribution to society, to the owners of this project, who are our consumer and employee partners. Because we want to continue to make progress so that our cooperative project, with its values of solidarity and cooperation, is the best place for our consumer and employee partners, which is what we do and how we do it. Together we are stronger. EROSKI with you. 

Leire Mugerza Garate 

Consumer Partner and Chairwoman of the Governing Council of EROSKI