Mercadona has presented its 2022 results and its president Juan Roig has not avoided speaking out on some recent issues, such as the change of headquarters of Ferrovial, yes, to questions from journalists. In his response, Juan Roig said that “I would like all the companies in the world, including Google, to come to Spain, if possible to the Valencian Community”. And regarding Ferrovial, he wanted it to “put its headquarters in Valencia” and even that Ford do it, “which has it in Madrid”.
The question also came up about the latest movements of the company, when a few weeks ago managers of Marina de Empresas were in Barcelona looking at spaces. On this, the businessman has said that Mercadona “is in Valencia and will be there for many years”, and as for Marina de Empresas, he has indicated that its expansion will be within the city of Valencia, “although we do not rule out Alicante in the long term”.
He has also spoken about the demonization of benefits, after the latest criticism from Podemos. “The benefits are essential and necessary”, has defended the president of Mercadona, Juan Roig, in the first part of the annual press conference on the results of the Valencian company. As soon as it started, Roig made a firm statement about the role of the business community, in “complicated moments about the mission of a company.”
“Having benefits is a very good thing, although in Spain it seems that we don’t want to share it if we are doing well. But the objective of a company for me is not to maximize profits, it is to maximize the benefit for everyone at the same time: the bosses (the customers), workers, supplier, society and capital”, he pointed out.
After the critics of the last months to the corporate profits in the current context of inflation, Roig has said that having profits “is similar to eating”. Thus, he has indicated that eating “is essential, but if your main purpose is the benefits, that is not healthy, it must be compatible to share with the five components.”
Likewise, he explained that “if there is no benefit, you cannot reinvest, maintain a company or update its assets, this message must be transmitted to society: Benefits are essential, and the more benefits you have, the better the other components work “.
Nor has he avoided talking about the consideration that there is about the business figure, after the harsh criticism of Podemos, although without direct allusions in any case. “We have a long way to go to talk about the ‘pride of being an entrepreneur'”, he defended. Likewise, Juan Roig says he firmly believes that “businessmen, managers and workers are the ones who generate wealth in a country”, and he explained that “the well-being of society will depend on the number of honest businessmen there are”.
