Regional paper recalls Archena Amazon origin

La Verdad’s Archena local coverage in April 2026 revived a story Amazon has used in anniversary materials for years: the first order placed on Amazon.es was sent to a customer in Archena, a town in the Region of Murcia. The regional paper listed the article on its Archena page under the headline “De un Código Penal en Archena a millones de entregas rápidas,” linking the anecdote to Amazon’s growth in Spain. Amazon’s own 15th-anniversary material, published on May 13, repeated the same origin story and added current figures on jobs, investment and logistics. A separate report in La Opinión de Murcia, also published on May 13, carried the same account. ### When does Amazon say this happened? Amazon says the first order on Amazon.es was placed just after midnight on September 15, 2011, the date the Spanish site began operating. The company said the item was “un ejemplar del Código Penal” — a copy of Spain’s Penal Code — sent to a customer in Archena, Murcia. La Opinión de Murcia said the order was made in the early hours of that day by a resident of the Vega Media del Segura municipality. Murciadiario, in a 2021 anniversary item, said the order was placed 30 seconds after midnight, also identifying Archena as the destination. ### Why is Archena in the story at all? Archena appears in the story because Amazon identifies the town as the destination of its first Spanish order, and La Verdad highlighted that local connection in its Archena coverage. The listing visible on La Verdad’s Archena page shows the article framed as a jump from “a Penal Code in Archena” to “millions of fast deliveries.” La Verdad’s full article is behind a subscription wall, but the headline and placement on the paper’s local page match the account Amazon has published on its own Spanish corporate site. That makes the Archena reference less a new disclosure than a local retelling of a corporate milestone tied to a Murcia municipality. ### What has Amazon said about its growth since then? Amazon said on May 13 that it has invested more than 25 billion euros in Spain since 2010 and now employs 28,000 people on permanent contracts in the country. The company said more than 17,000 small and medium-sized businesses sell through its store in Spain. Ruth Díaz, Amazon’s general manager for Spain and Portugal, said in the company statement that Spanish customers “opened the doors of their homes” to Amazon 15 years ago and that the company wants to keep investing and innovating in the country. Amazon also said it has expanded from books into services including Prime Video, Amazon Web Services, Amazon Fresh, lockers and rural delivery programs. ### How broad is Amazon’s delivery network in Spain now? La Opinión de Murcia said Amazon now has about 40 logistics facilities in Spain, more than 20,000 pickup points and a workforce of more than 28,000 people from over 100 nationalities. The paper attributed those figures to the company. Amazon’s anniversary page did not list the 40-facility and 20,000-pickup-point totals in the visible excerpt, but it did say the company had expanded its logistics network to get closer to customers and speed deliveries. The company linked that expansion to same-day delivery launches beginning in 2014 and to broader service additions over time. ### What comes next in Amazon’s Spain expansion? Amazon said on May 13 that it plans to open a logistics center in Zaragoza and a delivery station in Paterna, near Valencia, in the coming months. The company said those openings are intended to increase service capacity for customers and sellers across Spain. La Opinión de Murcia also said Amazon has announced a 33.7 billion euro investment over the next decade to expand data-center infrastructure in Aragon and support artificial-intelligence innovation in Europe. Amazon’s next public milestones in Spain are likely to come with those openings in Zaragoza and Paterna, which the company has already named as upcoming sites.