With three of his five brothers, Juan Roig bought the shops from his parents in 1981. He largely bought out his brothers in 1991, and went on to build up the Mercadona supermarket chain, which now runs over 1,400 stores. His success in Retail has been based on a risky strategy of competitive pricing, and on technological innovations such as barcode scanners and automated distribution facilities. He introduced full-time contracts for all employees in the late 1990s.