What company is El Corte Inglés
El Corte Inglés, S.A. is the Spanish parent of a group spanning department stores, food retail, fashion, travel and other services. Its registered office is at Hermosilla 112, Madrid. This profile covers the consolidated group: a store, a brand and a legal entity can have similar names but different boundaries. The parent company’s shares are unlisted. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 19 El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 72
Financial year 2025 runs from 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026. It is the latest published full year used here; management changes in 2026 are dated separately and are not retrospectively attributed to the financial year end. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 8
The accounts and sustainability report were approved at the 24 July 2026 general meeting. 2026 annual general meeting
Origins and development
In 1935 Ramón Areces bought the El Corte Inglés tailoring business, founded in 1890, with support from his uncle César Rodríguez. The company was incorporated in June 1940, with César as its first chairman. Department-based selling developed through the 1945–1946 Preciados refurbishment. History of El Corte Inglés
Diversification added Viajes in 1969 and Hipercor in 1979. Acquiring Galerías Preciados assets in 1995 expanded the network; Lisbon’s 2001 opening introduced the department store to Portugal. Sfera launched in 2002. History of El Corte Inglés
How the business earns revenue
Retail sells categories including fashion, beauty, home, food and electronics through stores and digital channels. It combines purchasing merchandise on its own account, concessions and own brands. Its omnichannel offer includes home delivery, collection and rapid services, with availability depending on the service and location. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 144 El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 145
Travel covers holidays, corporate travel, meetings and conferences, and wholesale accommodation distribution. Viajes El Corte Inglés and Logitravel are channels and brands within this business. Another segment commercialises space through leases and agreements with external operators; the group also provides security, home and energy services. Third-party sales volumes do not automatically become consolidated net revenue. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 113 El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 146
Brands, subsidiaries and absorbed companies
Supercor and the Portuguese department-store company are listed as 100%-owned in the 2025 entity schedule. At the 28 February 2026 year end, the group held 75% of VECI Travel Group and 51% of Moda Joven Sfera México. Full consolidation includes controlled companies and recognises minority interests; it does not imply exclusive parent-company ownership. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 119
Sfera remains a trading brand although El Corte Inglés absorbed Sfera Joven, registered on 15 October 2020. Supercor absorbed Supermercado Sánchez Romero, registered on 7 February 2022. These brands should therefore not be presented as two additional independent subsidiaries in the current group boundary. BORME: absorption of Sfera Joven BORME: absorption of Sánchez Romero by Supercor
On 1 October 2026, El Corte Inglés announced an agreement with Tool Factory to acquire the remaining 25% of the travel group and reach 100%. Spain’s CNMC approved the transaction on 26 October and the Portuguese authority adopted a non-opposition decision on 28 October, published on 30 October. These decisions establish regulatory approval, but the evidence examined does not establish the completion date; nor do they retrospectively change the February year-end ownership percentage. Agreement to acquire the remaining 25% of Viajes, October 2026 CNMC: ECI / VTG case, 26 October 2026 CNMC: approval of the VECI Travel Group acquisition AdC: non-opposition to the VECI transaction, 28 October 2026
Insurance, finance and Grupo Mutua
At the 2025 year end, El Corte Inglés held 49% of Financiera El Corte Inglés and 49.99% of the main insurance and insurance-intermediation companies. It also held 50% of Sephora Cosméticos España. These holdings are equity-accounted; their full sales are not added to the retailer’s consolidated revenue. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 67 El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 121
The alliance completed with Grupo Mutua on 31 May 2022 included Mutua’s purchase of 50.01% of SECI and CESS and its acquisition of an 8% stake in El Corte Inglés. These are separate relationships: Mutua is a shareholder in the parent and a controlling partner in insurance. The historical entry stake is not a substitute for a complete, current shareholder register. Completion of the Grupo Mutua alliance
Ownership and current leadership
The accounts at 28 February 2026 identify two entities holding more than 10% of the share capital: Fundación Ramón Areces, with 40.04%, and Cartera de Valores IASA, with 18.40%. This is not an exhaustive shareholder list and does not by itself establish an individual controlling majority. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 72
Cristina Álvarez became non-executive chair on 15 January 2026. Javier Catena was appointed chief executive officer on 19 June 2026, responsible for the business divisions. The board composition consulted confirms both positions. Chairmanship, executive management and ownership are distinct functions. Appointment of Cristina Álvarez Appointment of Javier Catena Current board of directors
Financial scale and comparison basis
Consolidated net revenue was €14,987.783 million, compared with €14,786.057 million in 2024. Profit attributable to the parent was €628.256 million; total profit including minority interests was €646.407 million. These are consolidated-account figures and do not add the full sales of associates. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 14
The €17,247 million global revenue volume is an alternative performance measure incorporating gross amounts when the group acts as agent and, from 2025, gross sales by certain external space operators. The company restates the prior comparison. This profile uses accounting net revenue of €14,987.783 million for selection and comparison, without adding other operating income or treating transaction volume as revenue. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 138
Geographical presence and retail formats
At year end there were 70 department stores in Spain and 2 in Portugal. The report also lists 34 hypermarket areas and 137 Supercor stores in Spain and 6 in Portugal. Sfera had 167 own stores, 309 franchises abroad and 71 corners in Spanish and Portuguese centres. These formats can share premises; adding them does not yield a valid count of unique locations. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 144 El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 145
Spain contributed €13,695.810 million of net revenue; the rest of the European Union contributed €706.234 million and the rest of the world €585.739 million. International operations combine Portuguese retail, fashion and travel, particularly in Portugal and Latin America; they do not constitute a uniform global department-store network. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 102 El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 113
Workforce and work organisation
The group ended the year with 81,830 people: 51,075 women and 30,755 men. Average full-time-equivalent employment was 72,890, a different measure from year-end headcount. The management report states that 97.5% of contracts were permanent. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 149
Work spans sales, shelf replenishment, fresh food, logistics, offices and services. From an occupational-prevention perspective, this diversity requires task- and site-specific assessment: a total employment figure cannot describe exposure to loads, cutting equipment, internal traffic or customer-facing work. This interpretation draws on the business model and the company’s documented prevention plans. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 144 El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 148
Digitalisation and operational innovation
The 2025 management report describes modernising corporate platforms, predictive models for planning and personalisation, and real-time logistics traceability. For travel it reports new management platforms and an agent portal; for home services, an omnichannel CRM and a self-service app. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 159 El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 146
These are company-reported initiatives without an independent assessment of savings or accident reductions attributable to each project. In prevention, digital instructions, training and health-surveillance access can improve information availability, but effectiveness requires evidence of implemented measures and comparable outcomes. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 146 El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 149
How occupational health and safety is organised
The company reports that 100% of its own workforce in Spain and Portugal is covered by an occupational health and safety system. Spain has a joint in-house prevention service; Portugal operates a system aligned with its legislation. Assessments cover safety, occupational hygiene, ergonomics and psychosocial factors, with quarterly committee monitoring of measures. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 146
The report describes ISO 45001 surveillance audits for El Corte Inglés Empresas and El Corte Inglés Real Estate within their respective scopes. This does not establish universal certification of all stores or subsidiaries. The prevention catalogue contains 52 courses for own workers in Spain and Portugal, distinguishing induction, subsequent and refresher training; face-to-face instruction is used for practical requirements. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 149
Ergonomics: funding and task redesign
The retail ergonomics plan aims to identify and prioritise musculoskeletal risks and translate assessments into technical and organisational measures. The first training intake for 34 prevention specialists started in November 2025, with completion planned for March 2026 according to the report. That forecast is not treated here as verified completion. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 148
In December 2025, €828,372 was authorised for sales-floor and fresh-food equipment, including electric pallet trucks, lifting tables and height-adjustable cutting blocks, trolley pushers and cutting machines. This is authorised funding; the document does not establish that every item was installed by year end or demonstrate an attributable reduction in injuries. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 148
Psychosocial risks and occupational health
The updated psychosocial assessment in El Corte Inglés, Outlet and Sfera centres concluded in late February 2025; results arrived at the start of the financial year reviewed. Participation was 49.3% of the invited population, with 24,600 questionnaires. The 2026–2030 prevention plan addresses working time and work–life balance, compensation and development, workload, leadership and personal resources. It is an action programme, not evidence that risks have been eliminated. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 147
Actions include workforce sizing and ergonomic assessments alongside mental-health promotion. The first facility under the new occupational-health-centre model opened in Madrid on 23 March 2026, after the year end. MiSS supports appointments and healthcare communication. Individual care complements rather than replaces organisational changes addressing psychosocial risk. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 148 El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 146
What the accident indicators mean
The report records 5 accidents under its restricted “recordable” definition: injuries at and arising from the workplace, with serious examples requiring immediate notification, excluding commuting accidents. This is not the total number of lost-time accidents or a general all-injury rate. The published frequency is 0.04 per million hours. The 2025 scope includes Spain, Portugal and Mexico; 2024 and 2023 cover Spain only, and hours by sex are estimated from workforce composition. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 151
Separately, Spain and Portugal report 15 occupational diseases and 740 other work-related health events. The group reports zero work-related fatalities among its own workers and value-chain workers operating on its premises. It records 619,089 hours of accident-related absence in Spain and Portugal; its 2024 comparison uses the calendar year. These definitions and boundaries prevent interpreting the five accidents as a conclusion about all group accident experience. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 150 El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 151
Energy, emissions and data boundaries
In 2025 the group reported energy consumption of 1,208,491 MWh, 85.9% of which was renewable. Reported emissions were 74,811 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent for scope 1; 366 for market-based scope 2 and 110,530 for location-based scope 2; these two electricity-accounting approaches must remain distinct. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 95 El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 96 El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 97
Scope 3 was 3,248,376 tonnes and dominates the footprint. A spend-based method was used for 92.2% of this category; historical data were recalculated and the table’s note states that these figures were not verified by an external auditor. Limited assurance over the sustainability report should not be turned into specific certification of each emissions inventory. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 97 El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 9
The competition decision concerning Viajes
On 10 December 2025, the CNMC imposed two fines on Viajes El Corte Inglés: €630,000 for coordinating non-submission of bids to a Banco de España tender in October 2021 and €60,000 for allocating Universidad Complutense de Madrid contracts in October 2022. The decision also imposed a six-month exclusion from Spanish public-sector procurement of travel-agency services for professional travel. CNMC decision on travel agencies · p. 149 CNMC decision on travel agencies · p. 150
The same decision closed proceedings against El Corte Inglés, S.A. because its joint liability had not been established. The sanctioned subsidiary must be distinguished from the parent. The 2025 accounts assess the financial impact as not significant. The evidence examined does not confirm a later judicial outcome or establish whether the exclusion was implemented or stayed; the administrative decision and the financial assessment are separate facts. CNMC decision on travel agencies · p. 150 El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 78
Prevention lessons and profile limits
The prevention value of this case lies in connecting tasks, organisation and data: physically improving handling in sales and fresh-food areas, addressing workload and schedules, and coordinating companies sharing premises. The documented plans identify specific actions; assessing results requires indicators with comparable definitions, periods and worker populations. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 146 El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 147 El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 148 El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 151
This is an independent editorial synthesis of public sources, reviewed on 8 November 2026. It does not establish a commercial relationship with Sabentis or certify conditions at every site. Company figures apply to the group and expressly stated boundaries; announced measures, authorised funding and verified outcomes remain distinct.
Frequently asked questions
When was El Corte Inglés founded?
Ramón Areces bought the tailoring business in 1935 and incorporated the company in June 1940, with César Rodríguez as partner and first chairman. History of El Corte Inglés
Who currently leads El Corte Inglés?
Cristina Álvarez has been non-executive chair since 15 January 2026. Javier Catena was appointed chief executive officer on 19 June 2026. Appointment of Javier Catena Appointment of Cristina Álvarez
What was revenue in the latest full financial year?
Consolidated net revenue for 2025/26 was €14,987.783 million. The year ended on 28 February 2026; global revenue volume is a different measure and should not replace it. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 14
Are all its brands wholly owned subsidiaries?
No. At 28 February 2026, the group held 75% of VECI Travel Group and 51% of Moda Joven Sfera México. The financial and insurance holdings discussed are equity-accounted; some brands also continue after their former legal entity was absorbed. El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 119 El Corte Inglés 2025 consolidated accounts · p. 121 BORME: absorption of Sfera Joven BORME: absorption of Sánchez Romero by Supercor The acquisition of the remaining 25% of Viajes was announced in October 2026 and received Spanish and Portuguese clearance; these sources do not establish the completion date. Agreement to acquire the remaining 25% of Viajes, October 2026 CNMC: approval of the VECI Travel Group acquisition AdC: non-opposition to the VECI transaction, 28 October 2026
Is the entire group ISO 45001 certified?
The report describes surveillance audits at Empresas and Real Estate within their scopes. Reported health and safety system coverage in Spain and Portugal does not amount to universal certification. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 149
Do the five reported accidents cover all occupational accidents?
No. The table uses a restricted definition of notifiable injuries, excludes commuting accidents and covers Spain, Portugal and Mexico in 2025. It is not a total of lost-time accidents and is not directly comparable with the Spain-only scope in prior years. El Corte Inglés 2025 sustainability report · p. 151
