This is how a small Madrid tailor shop became an icon of Spanish commerce

There is no self-respecting Spanish citizen who has not heard on some occasion that “If you are not satisfied we will refund your money”. This well-known slogan has functioned as a powerful marketing tool since the 70s of the last century and continues to constitute an absolute guarantee for consumers 90 years after its birth in a modest tailor shop in Madrid.

As you can imagine, we are talking about The English Courtthe reference department stores for Spaniards that have a wide variety of products: from clothing, accessories and footwear to appliances, furniture, travel and insurance of all kinds.

This company’s strategy to attract customers It is not about offering great deals and lowering prices.although it has great discounts in certain periods of the year, such as the winter and summer sales or the so-called Golden Days campaign. Its commitment is to put the customer at the center, guaranteeing purchases of great quality-price ratio with the addition of not putting a single but in case any problem arises.

“The client is our reason for being. It constitutes the main reason that pushes El Corte Inglés towards a constant improvementanticipating and adapting to the new demands and needs of society,” explains the Spanish chain on its website, where it highlights that “this commitment to make life easier of people is the pillar on which a solid relationship based on the trust mutual in the long term.

In this way, El Corte Inglés “has consolidated itself as a benchmark for quality commerce that has known how to grow and diversify its activity until it became a business group capable of creating new formats, entering different market segments and developing new opportunities of business in various sectors”.

“That trust is priceless”

On the internet we can find a huge variety of opinions about El Corte Inglés, but in general the majority of contributions are positive, highlighting customer service. “If there is something that really makes a difference, it is the attention of the staff. It is clear that they are used to dealing with demanding and diverse clients.and they always do it with impeccable professionalism. They don’t just ship; they advise. They listen to you, they understand what you are looking for —although sometimes you yourself are not clear about it— and they guide you towards the best option without trying to sell you the most expensive, but rather the most appropriate. That trust is priceless,” Juan Saborido highlights in his Google review of the emblematic center of Castellana.

For his part, Cristian Muñoz, a client of the Plaza de Catalunya center in Barcelona, ​​highlights that they are “a very complete department store with a great variety of brands and genres on the nine floors, including a restaurant with a very nice viewpoint of the city on the top floor, supermarket, parking, fashion, electronics, video games, etc.

Ana Judith, on the other hand, says about the center located in the Plaza del Duque de la Victoria in Seville that “every time I am in the area I pay a visit to this place, because I find it exquisite and It has multiple options to buy and gift. For all ages, genders and tastes. The prices are a little high, but you can always find something convenient. The sections are very well laid out and everything is easy to find.”

Business success story

Currently, The English Court It has around 90 large centers in Spain but to find its origins you have to go back to 1935. That year Ramón Areces bought a tailor shop founded in 1890 under the name of El Corte Inglés on Preciados Street in Madrid, on the corner of Carmen and Rompelanzas Streets.

Once the Civil War (1936-1939) had passed, in 1940, with the help of his uncle César Rodríguez, partner and first president of the company, he transformed the business into a large warehouse after acquiring a property on 3 Preciados Street. Five years later the company started. pfirst comprehensive renovation of the buildingat the same time that a departmental sales structure, typical of a large warehouse.

It is then that Areces and his uncle can put into practice everything they learned during their stay in Cuba, where They worked at the El Encanto warehouses and they learned modern commercial techniques exported from the United States, such as discounts or putting the customer at the center of everything.

In 1955, the company incorporated the adjacent building of Preciados, 5. Successive expansions and modifications to offer a modern image and in accordance with the demands and needs of society. But it was not until 1962 when El Corte Inglés begins its expansion for Spain with the inauguration of its second center, in Plaza Cataluña in Barcelona, ​​at the same time that it opens centers in Seville and Bilbao.

In 1966 César Rodríguez died and that is when Ramón Areces became president of the company, which would grow more until 1975 than in the previous two decades. It is also beginning to diversify with the opening of travel businesses, optics, computing and the birth of Hipercor, a new hypermarket concept with textile, bazaar, grocery, perishable and hospitality sections. Likewise, born the El Corte Inglés shopping card, which introduces a new payment concept to make purchasing easier for its customers.

This golden period culminated with the acquisition in 1995 of Preciados Galleriesa company that for decades was its great competitor in department stores and which founded Pepín Fernández, cousin of César Rodríguez. Already at that time the president of the business group was Isidoro Alvareznephew and successor of Ramón Areces, and considered the great architect of the development and expansion of the company, which under his leadership opened its first large store abroad in Lisbon and successfully launched the Sfera fashion brand, Supercor or the chain specialized in DIY Bricor. Currently, the president of El Corte Inglés is Marta Álvarez, adopted daughter of Isidoro Alvarez

Income of more than 16.6 billion in the last financial year

El Corte Inglés, which suffered historic losses of around 2,945 million euros in 2020 due to inactivity and lack of tourism during the coronavirus pandemic, has righted the course again and closed the 2024-2025 fiscal year with a net profit of 512 million euros, 6.7% more than the previous year. Total revenues reached 16,675 million euros, 2% more, with a 11.9% growth in EBITDA (gross operating profit) up to 1,209 million.

The company attributed these improvements in accounts to advances in management efficiency, a dedication to customer service, the continuous innovation and quality of its products.

Net financial debt was reduced by 263 million eurosfrom the 2,059 million it accumulated a year before (which at that time was already its lowest level in 16 years), to remain at 1,796 million.