Today I will introduce you an economic aspect of Spain. Specifically, I want to talk about a famous industry which hold an important impact in the Spanish economic fabric: the EL CORTE INGLES.
El Corte Inglés it’s the biggest department store group in Europe and ranks fourth worldwide. It is also the largest department store chain in Spain. Its corporation’s registered office is situated in Madrid. It is present in the majority of big cities in Spain and Portugal. We can compare it with Galeries Lafayettes in France.
El Corte Inglés of Castellana in Madrid
History
Ramón Areces Rodríguez purchased a tailor’s shop in 1934 in Madrid that was bearing the name El Corte Inglés (“The English Cut”) and decided to keep it. In 1995, El Corte Inglés bought out its only serious competitor, Galerías Preciados, which had entered bankruptcy. In 2001, it started its international expansion in Portugal.
Key figures
The El Corte Inglés Group ended 2015 with a consolidated turnover of € 15,219,84 million. The three activities which have made the greatest contribution to this result are the department stores, hypermarkets and travel agencies.
Gross operating profit was 912.51 million euros and consolidated net profit was 158.13 million euros.
El Corte Inglés is Spain’s only remaining department store chain, as well as owner of several associated businesses.
Its main original feature is that it provides everything you need to live: foods, clothes, cars, trips, electronics and much more. For example, you also may find hair salons, insurance and estate agencies. Its retail stores are always situated in city centres and in huge buildings with underground car parks. El Corte Inglés offers goods and services with medium to high quality. Prices are generally high but it focuses on relationships with customers.
El Corte Inglés’s terrace and its rooftop’s view
In fact, one of the reasons for its success is that it offers a « satisfied or your money back » warranty. Clients can return their defective item
or inappropriate purchases against refund. El Corte Inglés was the first warehouse doing that in Spain, today all high consumption stores are doing this.
In Madrid, I usually go there for shopping because it’s really easy to find everything you need and it’s close to my flat. You should test the Gourmet Experience. It’s a huge food hall with stunning views of Madrid’s Gran Vía and the emblematic Shweppes sign. There is a variety of food stalls serving anything you want: sushi, pizza, hamburguesas, quesadillas,… all in the same place. On the same floor, there’s also a supermarket specializing in international gourmet products, like sauces, jams and olive oïl!
Have a nice week!
