“With our incorporation we want to support the businesses of Círculo Fortuny in their campaign to place Spain as a brand of prestige. Far from the clichés of sun and beach, we strive to show the richness of Spanish cities with their culture, gastronomy, fashion, art, architecture, luxury hotels, and to promote the optimum recognition of Spanish products throughout the world.”
Javier Fernández Andrino, International Marketing & Luxury Strategy Director – El Corte Inglés
El Corte Inglés joins Círculo Fortuny, along with other renowned department stores: Harrods, Selfridges, La Rinascente and KadeWe; they are part of similar international associations such as Walpole in United Kingdom, Altagamma in Italy and Meisterkreis in Germany.
The shared aspiration of Círculo Fortuny and El Corte Inglés is to raise the profile of the Spain brand, boosting the image of luxury goods and services; they lead the Spanish company, a benchmark in the high-end shopping segment, to join, as a corporate partner, the Association chaired by Mr Carlos Falcó, Marqués de Griñón, the only one of its kind internationally recognised as the representative of the Spanish luxury companies.
With 75 years of history, El Corte Inglés has created the leading Spanish chain of department stores and a model unique across the globe. With 2.5 million references, there is room for the most renowned firms of the luxury sector (Carrera y Carrera, Lladró, Loewe, Suárez, etc.) as well as small craft brands, as the company has become a “cultural” reference of Spain; thus, according to the Financial Times, it is one of the three most emblematic Spanish entities, along with the Sagrada Familia cathedral and the Museo del Prado museum, a recently incorporated honorary member of Círculo Fortuny.
The company has recently refocused its vision towards high-end consumption and acquisition of customers with high purchasing power, to become in itself the shopping destination per excellence. It also presents the most exquisite culinary offer, with seven Gourmet Experiences (in Madrid, Seville, Malaga and Alicante) and over 50 restaurants throughout Spain. It provides all of this with the essential objective of achieving maximum customer satisfaction, through quality, service, selection, specialization and guarantee, these being the five commitments that all the companies of the group maintain.
The Castellana store in Madrid, which, with its upcoming extension, will become a shopping icon in the city centre at European level, constitutes the largest shopping space of the luxury sector in Spain and is a great reference point for high-end shopping tourism (30% Chinese, 40% Latin American, Russian and Arabic).
In light of this, it has obtained the Tourist Quality Certificate, awarded by the Chinese National Tourism Administration (CNTA). This is a very exclusive distinction only granted to establishments that have demonstrated appreciable work geared towards Chinese tourists. Additionally, it has the Virtuoso stamp of quality, granted by the largest American network of luxury travel agents. The company has strengthened its portfolio of proposals and services for the international public, with advantages and exclusive services directed at them.
