Another El Corte Inglés Closes: 18 Fewer Stores in Five Years
The Hipercor in Méndez Álvaro is closing on February 29th for demolition. Industry press reports 18 store closures in five years.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
El Corte Inglés Closes Méndez Álvaro Hipercor
The Hipercor store of El Corte Inglés in Méndez Álvaro, located in Madrid's Arganzuela district, will shut its doors on February 29th. The company plans to demolish the building to construct two office towers in its place and assures that affected staff will be relocated to other group centers. This news is not entirely surprising to those trinc the company: the store had not been listed as an online order pickup point for weeks, a sign that was interpreted as a final warning.
Why is the Méndez Álvaro Hipercor Closing?
The reason cited is real estate, not commercial. El Corte Inglés intends to tear down the building and replace it with two office towers. Additionally, a theory circulating suggests that the construction may have exceeded urban planning regulations, which could have expedited the demolition. This should be taken with a grain of salt, as the company has not publicly confirmed it.
What is certain is the labor timeline. If the closure takes effect on the 29th, the notice period for layoffs is reportedly around fifteen days, a tight timeframe that explains why the news has been leaking gradually before becoming official.
El Corte Inglés Accumulates 18 Closures in Five Years
The Méndez Álvaro closure is not an isolated incident. According to industry press reports, the company has closed 18 stores in the last five years. The pandemic triggered a perfect storm: the first negative result in its history, an unprecedented redundancy plan in over a century of operation, and a strategic plan until 2026 to streamline an unsustainable structure. The group acknowledges its aim to no longer be one of the country's largest employers.
The Rise of Online Commerce and the Burden of Large Stores
The customer hasn't disappeared; they've simply shifted channels. It's argued that Amazon and e-commerce have captured a significant portion of the foot traffic that used to fill these large retail spaces, particularly for clothing and electronics. The supermarket remains a last resort, but it's not enough, according to this perspective. Maintaining the climate control for colossal buildings with increasingly empty floors becomes a devastating fixed cost; some describe these centers as warehouses barely covering their own energy bills. This isn't an issue exclusive to El Corte Inglés; some forum users are already speculating about Conforama facing similar adjustments.
Granada, Valencia, and Names Rumored for the Next Closure
The Madrid closure has fueled a wave of rumors. A store in Andalusia is reportedly under scrutiny, with Granada being the main candidate: both the Arabial and Genil Hipercor stores are mentioned. In Valencia, attention is turning to the Supercor stores. The group's outlets are also on the list. None of these potential closures have official confirmation; they are based on indications, leaks, and rough calculations, with the warning that the trickle is unlikely to stop. The snowball is already rolling.
What Will Happen to the Affected Employees?
The company insists on relocation. This argument works when there are nearby stores but becomes complicated when a closure is due to the area's declining viability. Meanwhile, the view that each closure pushes employees towards unemployment or labor emigration is growing, alongside warnings that the large-format retail model, as we knew it, is nearing its end.
The Political Angle: From Minimum Wage to Store Closures
Some in the discussion thread sarcastically attributed the closures to minimum wage hikes and reduced working hours. This thesis should be separated from the numbers: a hypermarket doesn't close because of its cashiers' minimum wage; it closes because its land is more valuable for offices or because customers have moved online. Mixing causes might make for a catchy headline but explains very little.
The truly striking figure isn't this single closure, but its context: 18 centers in five years and the hard-to-refute feeling that the list is far from complete.
The Hipercor store of El Corte Inglés in Méndez Álvaro, located in Madrid's Arganzuela district, will shut its doors on February 29th. The company plans to demolish the building to construct two office towers in its place and assures that affected staff will be relocated to other group centers. This news is not entirely surprising to those trinc the company: the store had not been listed as an online order pickup point for weeks, a sign that was interpreted as a final warning.
Why is the Méndez Álvaro Hipercor Closing?
The reason cited is real estate, not commercial. El Corte Inglés intends to tear down the building and replace it with two office towers. Additionally, a theory circulating suggests that the construction may have exceeded urban planning regulations, which could have expedited the demolition. This should be taken with a grain of salt, as the company has not publicly confirmed it.
What is certain is the labor timeline. If the closure takes effect on the 29th, the notice period for layoffs is reportedly around fifteen days, a tight timeframe that explains why the news has been leaking gradually before becoming official.
El Corte Inglés Accumulates 18 Closures in Five Years
The Méndez Álvaro closure is not an isolated incident. According to industry press reports, the company has closed 18 stores in the last five years. The pandemic triggered a perfect storm: the first negative result in its history, an unprecedented redundancy plan in over a century of operation, and a strategic plan until 2026 to streamline an unsustainable structure. The group acknowledges its aim to no longer be one of the country's largest employers.
The Rise of Online Commerce and the Burden of Large Stores
The customer hasn't disappeared; they've simply shifted channels. It's argued that Amazon and e-commerce have captured a significant portion of the foot traffic that used to fill these large retail spaces, particularly for clothing and electronics. The supermarket remains a last resort, but it's not enough, according to this perspective. Maintaining the climate control for colossal buildings with increasingly empty floors becomes a devastating fixed cost; some describe these centers as warehouses barely covering their own energy bills. This isn't an issue exclusive to El Corte Inglés; some forum users are already speculating about Conforama facing similar adjustments.
Granada, Valencia, and Names Rumored for the Next Closure
The Madrid closure has fueled a wave of rumors. A store in Andalusia is reportedly under scrutiny, with Granada being the main candidate: both the Arabial and Genil Hipercor stores are mentioned. In Valencia, attention is turning to the Supercor stores. The group's outlets are also on the list. None of these potential closures have official confirmation; they are based on indications, leaks, and rough calculations, with the warning that the trickle is unlikely to stop. The snowball is already rolling.
What Will Happen to the Affected Employees?
The company insists on relocation. This argument works when there are nearby stores but becomes complicated when a closure is due to the area's declining viability. Meanwhile, the view that each closure pushes employees towards unemployment or labor emigration is growing, alongside warnings that the large-format retail model, as we knew it, is nearing its end.
The Political Angle: From Minimum Wage to Store Closures
Some in the discussion thread sarcastically attributed the closures to minimum wage hikes and reduced working hours. This thesis should be separated from the numbers: a hypermarket doesn't close because of its cashiers' minimum wage; it closes because its land is more valuable for offices or because customers have moved online. Mixing causes might make for a catchy headline but explains very little.
The truly striking figure isn't this single closure, but its context: 18 centers in five years and the hard-to-refute feeling that the list is far from complete.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (61 replies).
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