El Corte Ingles is a big department store chain similar in some ways to the John Lewis shops in the UK with designer and luxury brands well represented. Apparently it is named for a style of tailoring – the English cut – as the founder of the chain originally opened a tailor’s shop in Central Madrid in 1934. Despite now being one of the largest companies in Spain it is not quoted on the Stock Exchange and remains in private hands. Apparently several journalists have a clause in their contracts that says they cannot say anything nasty about the chain!
Corte Inglés is something of a retailing phenomenon in Spain and the timing of their advertising campaigns seem to be taken as a marker by other retailers. Their marketing strategy is very aggressive and the shops provoke a remarkable degree of either loyalty or loathing amongst ordinary people. This strength of feeling is not confined to the locals. My partner, Maggie, for instance, thinks they are overpriced and offer nothing special. I, on the other hand, retain a fondness for the chain from my holidaymaker days in Spain. They were one of the few places where everything was on display (so there was no need to use Spanish) and they have long opening hours and don’t close for the long lunch break. Their seasonal sales are something of a cultural event for many Spaniards and lots of Spanish people say that imported events – like St Valentines Day – survive because they were promoted by Corte Inglés as another way of boosting profits.
There aren’t Corte Inglés shops everywhere. I think all of the Provincial Capitals have one and the largest cities have several – it’s another of those times where size really does matter. Around here there are a couple in Alicante and Murcia and one in Elche. In Murcia and Elche the traditional stores have the supermarket arm, Hipercor, attached.
More in the same vein at Life in Culebrón