page_title: Department store
section_title: Spain
hierarchical_section_title: Department store / Europe / Spain
caption_attribution_description: El Corte Inglés, letrero luminoso, grandes almacenes, rebajas
context_page_description: A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appearance in the middle of the 19th century, and permanently reshaped shopping habits, and the definition of service and luxury. Similar developments were under way in each of London, in Paris and in New York.
  Today, departments often include the following: clothing, furniture, home appliances, toys, cosmetics, houseware, gardening, toiletries, sporting goods, do it yourself, paint, and hardware. Additionally, other lines of products such as food, books, jewelry, electronics, stationery, photographic equipment, baby products, and products for pets are sometimes included. Customers generally check out near the front of the store in discount department stores, while higher-end traditional department stores include sales counters within each department. Some stores are one of many within a larger retail chain, while others are independent retailers.
context_section_description: The first department store in Spain was Almacenes el Siglo, opened in October 1881 in Barcelona. Following the 2002 closure by the Australian group Partridges of their SEPU (Sociedad Española de Precios Unicos) department store chain, which was one of Spain's oldest, the market is now dominated by El Corte Inglés, founded in 1934 as a drapery store. El Corte Inglés stores tend to be vast buildings, selling a very broad range of product. The group also controls a number of other retail formats, including the supermarket chain Supercor and hypermarket chain Hipercor. It currently employs 91,000 people and is the largest department store in Europe, with department stores all over mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and Portugal. Its first store opened in Madrid, where it currently has its headquarters. As of 2016, there were 95 El Corte Inglés department stores.
  Other competitors such as Simago and Galerías Preciados closed in the 1990s. El Corte Inglés also faces competition from French discount operators such as Carrefour and Auchan.
caption: Spanish company El Corte Inglés is Europe's biggest department store group and the third-largest worldwide.
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