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Introduction
Major consumer retail trade has undergone many changes over the last few decades. Its expansion corresponds to models connected to supermarkets and discount stores, as highlighted by various authors addressing the competition between formats in Europe ([46] Kulke, 2006; [63] Serrano Domínguez, 2007; [25] Deleersnyder et al. , 2007) and The United States ([64] Singh et al. , 2006; [37] Graff, 2006). It has become fertile ground for leading innovative companies. These innovations are developed in the form of aggressive competition, a suitable atmosphere for "creative destruction" drawn up by [60] Schumpeter (1942). Therefore, Evolutionary Geography constitutes a suitable way to focus on the study path of the leading companies in this sector. Companies obtained advantages from organised innovations that allowed them to gain competitiveness and adaptability to complex demand ([10] Boschma and Martin, 2007). They are good examples of how certain distinguishing characteristics allowed them long-term selective growth ([30] Essletzbichler and Rigby, 2007).
The difference between Wal-Mart and Mercadona in their markets (The Untied States and Spain) is based on a structure with quite a few similarities; on the one hand, cost reduction, the use of information technology, the removal of the central logistic system and, on the other hand, offering the minimum price ("Save Money, Live Better") along with a wide range of products. These mainstays have allowed them to be different to their competition and thus allow for rapid growth in the market share. The comparison between large distribution companies includes transnational players ([19] Colla and Dupuis, 2002; [3] Aoyama, 2007; [27] Durand and Wrigley, 2009). In this case the comparison is not based on the player's performance on a similar scale, but as to how the example of a transnational firm can serve as a guide for another company that has already been at that stage.
Innovation is not prevented from undermining the institutional mechanisms that channel competitive processes, at least in those countries where regulation is greater than in Spain. Institutions play an important role in glossing over the implicit Darwinism of the evolutionary thesis ([48] McKinnon et al. , 2009; [11] Boschma and Frenken, 2009), although its incidence varies based on legal and political-administrative structures. These concepts allow us to differentiate the areas in which Wal-Mart and...