2026
More than 80 years of history
El Corte Inglés took its name from a small tailor's shop founded in 1890, located between Calle Preciados, Calle Carmen and Calle Rompelanzas in Madrid. In 1935, Ramón Areces Rodríguez, backed by his uncle, César Rodríguez, bought the tailor’s and so started his business venture.
year1935
Ramón Areces Rodríguez bought a tailor shop founded in 1890 which is called El Corte Inglés.
year1939
A property was acquired at Calle Preciados 3, Madrid. It started a new phase, with the ground floor, first floor and part of the second floor earmarked for sales.
year1940
In June 1940, when the business had seven employees, Ramón Areces constituted the company El Corte Inglés, with his uncle César Rodríguez as a partner and first chairman of the company.
year1945/6
The first complete refurbishment of the Preciados building took place, in this way, it also started selling by departments, a typical feature of department store.
year1955
The adjacent building, Preciados 5, was incorporated. Over time, successive expansions and modifications were made in order to offer a modern image in accordance with the demands and needs of society.
year1960
For the first time, it was announced that “It is now spring at El Corte Inglés”.
year1962
El Corte Inglés began its expansion in the 1960s and opened its second establishment in Plaza Cataluña, Barcelona. At the same time, stores were opened in both Seville and Bilbao.
year1966
El Corte Inglés began its expansion in the 1960s and opened establishments in Barcelona.
The El Corte Inglés purchasing card was created, a new payment concept to make it easier for its customers to make purchases.
year1969
The company Viajes El Corte Inglés was constituted offering a wide range of services, as well as organising events, conferences and conventions.
year1972
The “If you are not satisfied, we will give you your money back” slogan appeared for the first time in print.
year1976
Óptica 2000 opened, a new space dedicated to marketing products and professional services related to vision and hearing. In 2019, El Corte Inglés sold the chain to the Dutch Grand Vision group.
year1979
Hipercor was created a new concept of a hypermarket with textiles, household goods, groceries, perishable goods and catering sections. In 2017, the merger between El Corte Inglés, S.A. and Hipercor, S.A, was approved to improve the commercial offering and harness the synergies.
The Cursa El Corte Inglés, the most important race in Europe and one of the leading races in the world started in Barcelona. In 1994, it entered the Guinness Book of Records by having more than 109,000 registered participants.
year1982
Seguros El Corte Inglés, the insurance broker of the El Corte Inglés Group, was constituted, leader today of its sector.
year1986
The Spanish national football team starred in the advertising campaign for Emidio Tucci suits under the slogan “Championship suits”.
year1988
Informática El Corte Inglés was created a company dedicated to designing, manufacturing and marketing computer products and a pioneer in developing personal computers. In 2020, the company was sold to the French group Gfi.
year1989
Isidoro Álvarez became chairman of the Board of El Corte Inglés following the death of Ramón Areces. Álvarez, who is very knowledgeable about the business, began his career as an employee at El Corte Inglés while doing his university degree in Economic and Business Sciences. When he was 24, he was made a director of the company and, seven years later, managing director. Álvarez is the great architect of the development and expansion of the company.
year1995
El Corte Inglés acquired Galerías Preciados, a company that was its leading competitor in the department store sector.
year2000
A new chain of supermarkets was launched, Supercor, offering quality and a wide choice of food, cleaning and perfumery products.
year2001
The first El Corte Inglés commercial establishment abroad was inaugurated in Lisbon, Portugal. In addition, five Carrefour hypermarkets and the nine Marks & Spencer centres in Spain were acquired.
year2002
Sfera was launched, a chain of stores specialising in fashion and accessories providing a great offer for women, men and childrens.
In 2020, the merger of El Corte Inglés and Sfera was improved to harness the synergies between the different formats to enhance efficiency and profitability.
year2006
The first Bricor store opened, the chain in the group specialising in DIY and décor.
In 2019, El Corte Inglés took over Bricor with the aim of improving and complementing the commercial offering.
year2010
El Corte Ingles store in Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid, was expanded, offering a wide range of fashion and luxury goods, as well as exclusive areas dedicated to customer service.
The first Gourmet Experience opened in Madrid, a gastronomic area that combines firms and chefs of prestige with the sale of gourmet products.
year2014
On September 14, Isidoro Álvarez died, after 25 years as chairman of El Corte Inglés.
Two days later, Dimas Gimeno Álvarez was appointed chairman of the Board of El Corte Inglés.
year2015
The Click&Express service was launched, making it possible to make purchases online and receive the order at home in less than two hours or in the time slot that the recipient choose.
year2016
El Corte Inglés celebrated its 75th anniversary, always at the forefront as a leader in innovation, technology, customer service, guarantee, quality and specialisation.
year2017
The merger of El Corte Inglés and Hipercor took place.
Unique restaurants like Puertalsol and Las Nubes de Castellana were launched, along with new areas dedicated to selling organic products, such as La Biosfera.
year2018
June 14, Jesús Nuño de la Rosa is appointed chairman of the Board of El Corte Inglés. Having spent his entire professional career at Viajes El Corte Inglés, he became CEO in 1998. Today, Vaijes El Corte Inglés is the leading company in the sector.
year2019
On the 10th of July the Board of Directors named Marta Álvarez, Isidoro Álvarez’s daughter, as its chairwoman. Her appointment meant that El Corte Inglés was once again led by a member of its founding family.
Marta Álvarez had already held positions of responsibility in various companies and areas of the Group. The architect behind the boosting and renewal of the Group’s own brands, she has also promoted significant advances in sustainability.
year2020
In july 2020, the group incorporated SICOR, a company that will pursue a number of lines of business with the aim of offering retail and corporate customers a suite of services ranging from home security and alarms to facility cleaning, maintenance and logistics, among many others.
In october 2020, we launched our new app and an annual flat-rate fee, El Corte Inglés Plus. These developments are changing how we interact with our customers and open the door to more personalised communication with digital users.
year2021/2
We sealed a strategic deal with Mutua Group, which is taking an 8% shareholding in El Corte Inglés, in addition to a 50.01%-interest in El Corte Inglés Insurance Group.
Our leadership of the tourism sector has been reinforced thanks to the merger between Viajes El Corte Inglés and Logitravel.
We acquired the Sanchez Romero supermarket chain, a deal which will help consolidate our position as leader in the high-end supermarket segment.
year2026
Cristina Álvarez is appointed chairwoman of the Board of Directors of El Corte Inglés and the Ramón Areces Foundation.
With more than 30 years of professional experience at El Corte Inglés, she has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to the development of the Group's businesses.
