The Spain based department store group ‘El Corte Inglés’, is the biggest in Europe and is now online! They have three separate shopping websites, all with a different selection of goods. The native Spanish version of the online store is the biggest.
To do do your shopping in English here are the links for each one.
Spanish Store: Elcorteingles.es in English
Portugese Store: Elcorteingles.pt in English
International Store: Elcorteingles.eu in English
elcorteingles.eu is also available in French
Online Shopping
El Corte Inglés is one of the leading online e-commerce retailers in Spain. Ranking in size with the likes of Amazon Spain & Amazon eBay. The Spanish version of the store has the biggest variety of products such as clothing, books, movies, music, sport equipment, electronics, furniture, flowers and food. They even sell pools.
Located at elcorteingles.es, they can ship over half of their product range to outside of Spain. Mostly to EU countries. A smaller range of products can be ordered to Americas, Asia and the rest of the world.
The international EU site is located at elcorteingles.eu and carries a smaller range of products mainly concentrated on fashion, sports, home and gourmet brands. Targeted at those residing in the UK, Ireland or the Netherlands.
Elcorteingles.es in English
While basic help and account functions are available in the English language. The Spain online shop is maintained in Spanish. However it can be easily translated by most browser software in combination with a translation extension or plugin.
The easiest solution is to use Google Chrome which automatically has this feature and asks foreign languages to be translated.
For those who are using Mozilla Firefox, you may use the handy S3.Google Translator extension. After an easy install, you will see a new icon on the top right corner of your browser window with available translation options. Be sure to set it to automatic so you can browse the whole website natively.
More About El Corte Inglés
‘The English Cut’, is not just a gigantic retailer, the stores are also tourist destinations. The stores are simply incredible. Founded in Madrid, Spain in 1934, this conglomerate grew out of a centrally located tailor shop at the hands of Ramon Areces Rodriguez and Cesar Rodriguez Gonzalez. As the company was passed on to the founders’ heirs, the company grew to be the prize of Madrid.
Known as the one of the strongest brands in Spain, El Corte Inglés became a cornerstone of the country’s retail industry and soon opened in other countries and flourished with subsidiaries like:
- Hipercor
- Bricor
- Supercor
- Opencor
- Viajes El Corte Inglés
- Informatica El Corte Inglés
If success breeds success, then this is the proof in the pudding. The flagship store in Madrid is as much a tourist destination as it is a behemoth retail store. The store boasts every well- known designer of clothing and jewellery while the company’s focus on customer service makes the customer experience so much more than its competitors that loyal shoppers keep coming back for more.
Since retail sales are affected by the market, the store has had its share of revenue fluctuations in 2011 but managed to weather the storm and emerge even stronger on the other side. Today, the company’s stores are located in the most desired locations in Spain and Portugal. The company’s payroll currently services over 95,000 employees who in most cases, feel blessed to be a part of such a historically entrenched organisation.
The company has built smaller satellite stores in close proximity to the larger ones, to satisfy those consumers who prefer a more curated assortment of products, similar to a boutique.
El Corte Inglés is the epitome of a well-run retailer with an extensive footprint. If only the likes of Sears could have mustered the determination to replicate the management style, they may not have turned out to be the finest example of what to do wrong in retail.
For current and future aspects of the business, they currently offer online shopping to its loyal customer base and is also attracting new customers who prefer to do business online. Online offerings is the natural progression for any brick and mortar retailer to remain relevant in the marketplace. Now with extending arms towards Portugal, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, France and the rest of the world!
Despite numerous phone calls and emails concerning billing for a returned item I have heard nothing.