Press release 19/02/2025

SURVEY ON TRADE AND REPAIRS. 2023

In 2023, trade in supermarkets, hypermarkets and other similar establishments represented 11.8% of total trade turnover in the Basque Country

The Retail Trade division, which accounted for 59.1% of employment in the sector and 62.7% of establishments, turned over 34.9% of the total

Retail trade in non-specialised establishments with food, beverages or tobacco predominating represented 11.8% of total turnover in the trade sector in the Basque Country, making it the largest activity group in the sector, according to Eustat data. Compared to the previous year, it saw growth of 5%.

Overall, it employed 22,105 people at 1,841 establishments. This was 3.1% fewer establishments than in 2022, despite employment figures remaining practically unchanged (-0.3%). This activity group also held first place in terms of employment (17.3%) in the sector as a whole, and accounted for 5.4% of the total number of establishments. Compared to 2010, there were 110 more establishments and 6,841 more jobs, meaning that the average number of people employed per establishment within this type of trade rose from 8.8 to 12 people per establishment.

Examples of this type of establishment are supermarkets, hypermarkets, food shops and self-service shops, among others.

In terms of employment, the second largest activity group was Retail trade of clothing in specialised establishments, which generated 8,342 jobs across 2,759 establishments. Its contribution to the turnover figure was proportionally lower, representing just 3.2% of the Basque Country total (ranking it eighth among the activity groups as a whole). Its employment figures remained stable (0.3%) and it registered a 3.7% drop in the number of establishments, but it saw a significant increase in sales of 17.5% compared to the previous year. In relation to 2010, there were almost 2,000 fewer people, although the average number of employees rose above 3 people per establishment, compared to 2.5 people in 2010.

In 2023, Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles recorded a 1.4% increase in employment compared to the previous year, reaching a total of 6,432 people, which represented 5.0% of total employment in the trade sector. With 2,085 establishments, the evolution of this activity group has remained relatively stable since 2010, consolidating its position as the third largest group within the sector. Its sales saw a considerable rise of 13.7% in respect of the previous year, but, despite this, its contribution to the turnover figure was significantly lower in comparison with its weight in employment, accounting for 2.3% of the sector’s total.

If we look at turnover and only consider those activity groups that exceed the threshold of 1,000 jobs, in addition to the aforementioned Retail trade in non-specialised establishments with food, beverages or tobacco predominating (4,958 million euros and 11.8% of the total), the most notable activity groups were Wholesale trade of metals and metallic minerals (2,367 million and 5.6%), Wholesale trade of other machinery and equipment (2,145 million and 5.1%), and Wholesale trade of scrap metal and waste products (1,959 million and 4.6%). Between them, these four activity groups accounted for almost 30% of turnover in the Vehicle trade and repair sector (27.1%).

Looking at the trade margin on sales (the proportion of the gross trade margin over the net sales value of goods for resale), and once again using the same employment threshold, the following activity groups had a margin of over 40%: Other retail trade of new items in specialised establishments (54.5%), Retail trade of clothing in specialised establishments (44.6%), Retail trade of bread and bread, confectionery and cake products in specialised establishments (43.1%) and Retail trade of textiles in specialised establishments (41.8%).

However, if we focus on productivity per person, four activity groups related to wholesale trade exceeded 1,000 euros: Wholesale trade of electronic and telecommunications equipment and its components (140.1 thousand euros), Wholesale trade of pharmaceutical products (116.1 thousand euros), Wholesale trade of metals and metallic minerals (115.8 thousand euros) and Wholesale trade of scrap metal and waste products (110.6 thousand euros).

General analysis

The Vehicle trade and repair sector as a whole had a turnover of 42,141 million euros, 1,214 million more than in 2022, which represents a rise of 3%.

The trade sector includes activities related to wholesale trade, retail trade and the sale and repair of vehicles.

A total of 33,884 establishments were in operation in this sector, 2.6% fewer than the previous year, 2022. The number of people employed fell slightly, with 127,611 people employed in 2023, 0.4% less than in 2022, thereby continuing the slow but ongoing trend. Therefore, compared with 2010, there was an accumulated fall in employment of 7%.

Meanwhile, staff costs saw an increase of 5.4%, standing at 4,210 million euros, in nominal value, for the year 2023, the highest in the known historical series.

The trade margin on sales (the proportion of the gross trade margin over the net sales value of goods for resale) for the sector as a whole was 23.5%, 1.4 percentage points higher than in 2022.

Provinces

At provincial level, Bizkaia registered the best performance for the set of indicators, although there were no major differences. In this province, sales rose by 3.9% and employment also increased slightly (0.1%); in Álava, turnover was up 2.5% with a slightly negative impact on employment (-0.7%), while in Gipuzkoa, turnover grew by 1.7%, although employment was down 1.2%.

In 2023, Bizkaia turned over a total of 21,831 million euros, 51.8% of the total, Gipuzkoa turned over 12,904 million, 30.6%, and Álava turned over 7,407 million, 17.6% of the total for the Basque Country.

Meanwhile, staff expenditure rose by 5.9% in Bizkaia, 5.8% in Álava, and 4.6% in Gipuzkoa.

The trade margin on sales increased by 7.9 percentage points in Bizkaia, 5.3 percentage points in Álava, and 4.9 points in Gipuzkoa.

Divisions

The Retail Trade division, the largest in terms of personnel as it accounted for 59.1% of employment in the sector, and 62.7% of establishments in the sector, turned over 34.9% of the total, with turnover rising by 5% although employment fell slightly by 0.5%.

Meanwhile, Wholesale trade and trade intermediaries, with 56.3% of the sector’s sales and 31.6% of employment, divided among 9,598 establishments, was the division that presented the least positive trend in terms of turnover, with 23,717 million euros, practically the same figure as last year. The number of staff employed fell by 0.7% to 40,324 people.

Sale and repair of vehicles recorded significant growth in turnover of 16%, with a slight increase of 0.8% in the number of people employed. In 2023, this section accounted for 9.3% of employment in 3,033 establishments, and 8.8% of total trade turnover.

Looking at the trade margin on sales, we can see that the margin for Retail trade was 27.6%, 1.0 percentage point lower than in 2022. For Wholesale trade it was 21.6%, 1.9 points higher, and the margin for the Sale and repair of vehicles division stood at 19.8%, 0.4 percentage points below the previous year.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea/Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62