Spanish retailer El Corte Inglés has posted a 2% increase in sales in full year 2016, to €15.51 billion.
This was lower than the growth rate it posted last year (10%), which the group attributed to sluggish sales at its Hipercor supermarket chain. El Corte Inglés has announced that it plans to merge the Hipercor business into its main operations, in a bid to cut costs.
Hipercor, which boasts 43 supermarkets across Spain, posted a 5.7% decrease in sales for the year, to €1.32 billion.
Group Performance
Elsewhere, its Supercor business posted a 1.9% increase in sales to €613 million, its Sfera fashion operation posted a 7.3% increase to €247 million, and its Bricor business posted a 1.7% increase to €110 million.
Its main El Corte Inglés department store business posted a 2.8% increase in sales to €9.72 billion. This operation accounts for 62.7% of the group’s business.
Its Portugal business posted a turnover of €452.6 million, which is the highest revenue it has posted in the country since it entered this market 15 years ago.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up for ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
