The La Caixa Foundation, El Corte Inglés, CaixaBank, Mercadona, Inditex and Telefónica are the six most recognized and valued companies for the help that Spanish SMEs, microenterprises and the self-employed receive from them throughout 2024, according to the latest wave of the study Business Success Advice, carried out by the economic consulting firm Advice Strategic Consultants. The Top-10 closes with Banco Santander, Meliá Hotels, Iberdrola and Cellnex Telecom. According to the consulting firm, the inflation suffered during much of 2024 and its economic and social consequences marked the parameter of Tangible Corporate Social Responsibility (RSET), a scale that measures the relevance of the activity of the country’s large companies by the microenterprises, as well as the general population, after a survey of 2,800 SMEs, with a statistical confidence index of 98%.
According to the same sources, the average number of SMEs (arithmetic average) that depends on each of the large companies in Spain is 40,000, including SMEs, micro-businesses and the self-employed. Around 1.6 million Spanish SMEs, micro-businesses and self-employed workers would depend (contracts, employment, workload, training, digital transformation, etc.) directly or indirectly on large companies in Spain.
Until October 2024, there were 2,928,641 companies registered in Spain. Of them, 2,922,819 are SMEs (0-249 employees) and represent 99.80% of the total. Large companies total 5,822 units (with 250 or more employees) and represent 0.20% of the total Spanish business fabric. Regarding labor magnitudes, SMEs support 11,172,505 employees. And large companies (250 or more employees), 6,904,312 employees. The total number of employees is 18,076,817 (public sector, apart). Given this business X-ray, Jorge Díaz Cardiel, managing partner of Advice Strategic Consultants, considers that “large Spanish companies providing workload to SMEs and the self-employed is essential for their survival.”
Valuation by sectors of activity
Third Sector: Between January and November 2024, the Third Sector is the private sector of activity, most appreciated and valued by SMEs/self-employed/general population (66% of the workforce in the private sector resides in SMEs and the self-employed, with or without salaried workers, according to the INE and Social Security). Hence, La Caixa Foundation, Cáritas and the Red Cross are the entities most highly valued by the groups interviewed (SMEs/microenterprises/self-employed/general population).
Food Distribution: has fed (literally) millions of SMEs/self-employed workers/families during nine months of “economic hardship due to inflation”. Food distribution chains (El Corte Inglés Supermarkets, Hipercor, Supercor, Mercadona, Carrefour, Alcampo, Eroski) have controlled their margins and made promotions to make their products affordable in price: these are factors that SMEs/self-employed people/the general population take into account the most. account, given the extraordinary cost of life. El Corte Inglés, Mercadona, Carrefour, Alcampo, Eroski, Lidl, Consum, Día have stood out positively for those interviewed.
Feeding: for the provision of a basic service to people: Danone, Pascual, Unilever, Nestlé, Puleva, Campofrío, El Pozo.
Banking (for the provision of financing to SMEs/self-employed people and families). In the following order, in autumn/winter 2024, CaixaBank, Banco Santander, Banco Sabadell, BBVA, Bankinter stand out. Banking/Financial Institutions are not “the cause of the problem, but part of the solution.” The provision of liquidity and credit has been essential for the survival of many SMEs/microenterprises and the self-employed who, otherwise, would have closed. “The fact that in 2024 there has been no drought in bank financing – with high rates – is a relief and a great help for Spanish SMEs and the self-employed,” says Jorge Díaz Cardiel, managing partner of Advice Strategic Consultants, a consultancy that has carried out the Studio.
Information and Telecommunications and Digital Technologies: It has allowed 87% of SMEs to continue working remotely, on mobility or through teleworking. The vast majority of these SMEs/microenterprises belong to the Services Sector, where 74% of SMEs and microenterprises in Spain are located (INE Data, Social Security and Advice Strategic Consultants). And, within that 74%, 24% belong to the “Commerce Sector”, where there has been a strong increase in “online sales and electronic commerce, either directly from their own website or through platforms such as Amazon, eBay , Facebook, WhatsApp, Shopify – they are the most cited in the survey – and others.”
Digitization: In 2024 “a lot of progress has been made in the digital transformation of SMEs/self-employed people. Telecommunications operators and technology companies have promoted the intensive and massive adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) of cloud computing, big data, machine learning, cybersecurity, commerce electronic, omnichannel, increasing the adoption of these technologies by SMEs/self-employed workers by 30pp in 2024”, asserts Jorge Díaz Cardiel, managing partner of Advice Strategic Consultants, a consulting firm that has carried out the Advice Business Success Study. Telefónica, Cellnex Telecom, Vodafone, Más Orange, HP, Lenovo, Dell, Acer, Apple, Microsoft, Sage, Salesforce, Oracle, Samsung, Amazon, Google and Meta (Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp) are the most valued ICT/Digital companies for SMEs and the self-employed, 2024.
Tourism: 2024 is the best year for the Spanish tourism sector since 2019. The latest official data available from the National Institute of Statistics (INE, September 2, 2024; Statistics of Tourist Movements in Borders (FRONTUR), say that “Spain received on July 10 .9 million international tourists, 7.3% more than in the same month of 2023. In the first seven months of 2024, the number of tourists who visited Spain increased by 12.0% and was close to 53.4 million. The large Spanish tourism companies have reinforced their growth: Meliá Hotels, Grupo NH (Minor Hotels), Grupo Barceló, Grupo Iberostar, AC Hotels by Marriot are the main hotel chains in Spain, in a sector (Tourism), which contributes 13% to Spanish GDP in 2024 (Source: INE and CaixaBank Research) and that, in hotels alone, it has 17,000 companies and 305,000 employees, for example, Half a million SMEs and self-employed workers depend (in their workload) on large hotel chains. , restaurants, etc.
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