On 26th October TEB Solucions opened its new establishment CoopMercat-PortaAPorta in the Gràcia neighbourhood. This is the first of 15 establishments planned to open in the next 2 years in the city, in a new concept of retail premises combining the sale of the products of cooperatives and the social economy with services to shops and people.

The PortaAPorta service was first set up in 2009 in the Concepció market, where it offered home delivery for the market stalls. After four years in operation, TEB Solucions decided to expand into other services, including door porter services, assistance for people with reduced mobility and organic baskets, and to offer these to shops in different neighbourhoods.

CoopMercat, on the other hand, is a new kind of local shop selling things direct from the producers, primarily Catalan cooperatives, the social economy and organisations offering added social value. Up to now 80% of these producers had no regular outlets in the city of Barcelona, or very few.

The official opening of the new establishment was the culmination of a morning of activities to publicise CoopMercat. Maite Fandos, deputy mayor responsible for Quality of Life, Equality and Sport, and also city councillor for the Gràcia neighbourhood, cut the ribbon, accompanied by Jordi Bailach, director of trade and consumer affairs at Barcelona city council, Xavier López, director general for the social economy, cooperatives and self-employment, Josi Llorenç, president of the TEB Cooperative Group, Mil·li Rodríguez, president of TEB Solucions, Francesc Martínez de Foix, director general of the TEB group, Juan Antonio Pedreño, president of CEPES and Perfecto Alonso, president of the Catalan federation of workers’ cooperatives.

Maite Fandos stressed in her speech the importance of creating local services in the neighbourhood in order to improve people’s quality of life and the need to network with the different associations in Gràcia.