El Corte Inglés reduced its international business by 20 percent and laid off over 900 employees in a year

Madrid - Following multiple confirmations of its positive trajectory and the announcement of its best revenue figures in 14 years for fiscal year 2024, El Corte Inglés has now released its consolidated accounts, providing a comprehensive view of its global business model. This detailed disclosure follows the department store giant's commitment to invest over 3 billion euros in its new strategic plan stretching to 2030.

To better contextualize El Corte Inglés's performance in the last fiscal year and its evolving business model, we will examine three key metrics: financial, operational, and structural. These metrics shed light on the company's sales by country and the evolution of its workforce and commercial network throughout 2024.

As a foundational overview, it's important to recall that El Corte Inglés concluded its fiscal year 2024 on February 28, 2025, with total revenue reaching 16.68 billion euros, representing a 2 percent year-on-year growth. This robust global revenue translated into a net profit of 512 million euros, a 6.7 percent increase from the previous year. These figures were initially reported on June 19 and subsequently approved at the company's general shareholders' meeting on July 24.

International business contracts by 20 percent

Analyzing El Corte Inglés's core commercial activities, excluding inter-company sales and other non-sales related revenue streams, the Spanish department store group generated 15.13 billion euros in sales to third parties across 22 key markets during 2024, marking a 2.73 percent increase. Notably, unlike 2023, the company did not record any activity in Greece or Russia in 2024.

Spain remained the primary source of revenue from third-party sales, generating 14.02 billion euros, a 5.25 percent increase. Following Spain, the top five markets by sales included Portugal with 528.2 million euros (down 21.81 percent), Mexico with 270.61 million euros (down 28.56 percent), the United Arab Emirates with 220.24 million euros (up 50.98 percent), and Chile with 54.62 million euros (down 6.21 percent). The United States emerged as El Corte Inglés's sixth-largest market, contributing 15.45 million euros in sales revenue, an increase of 15.21 percent.

Differentiating between domestic and international operations, El Corte Inglés generated 1.12 billion euros in total sales in its main international markets, excluding Spain. This figure represents a significant 20.97 percent contraction compared to the 1.41 billion euros generated in fiscal year 2023, highlighting a business model that remains predominantly focused on its domestic market.

El Corte Inglés reduces workforce of over 900 employees

Turning to El Corte Inglés's workforce in 2024, the company reported an average of 72,664 employees, a decrease of 615 from the 73,279 average in 2023. A more pronounced reduction is observed when comparing the year-end figures: the workforce decreased by 923 employees, from 81,714 at the close of 2023 to 80,791 at the close of 2024.

The company maintained employees in 23 countries, with the majority of its workforce naturally concentrated in Spain. The number of direct employees in Spain was reduced by 949 over the year, reaching 75,124. Significant employee concentrations outside Spain at year-end included Portugal with 3,363 employees (down 34), Mexico with 1,499 employees (up 58), Chile with 162 employees (up 15), China with 157 employees (down 2), Colombia with 129 employees (up 8), Bangladesh with 69 employees (down 1), and the United Arab Emirates with 54 employees (up 13).

El Corte Inglés closes 49 points of sale

Finally, regarding its commercial and retail network, El Corte Inglés experienced a net reduction of 49 points of sale in 2024 compared to 2023, closing the fiscal year with a total of 1,641 locations, down from 1,690. This contraction was entirely within its retail network, the company's primary business line, which generated 12.98 billion euros in revenue in 2024 (a 1.39 percent year-on-year increase), accounting for 77.82 percent of the group's total annual revenue.

Specifically, El Corte Inglés ended 2024 with 151 Supercor supermarkets (down 43), with 145 in Spain and 6 in Portugal. Its operations under the main El Corte Inglés brand comprised 755 points of sale (down 6), including 72 department stores (down 2 in Spain), 57 Supermercados El Corte Inglés food chain establishments (up 3), and 34 Hipercor centers (down 1).

The Sfera chain, also part of the retail network, notably increased its presence by 5 points of sale, closing the year with 529 locations. This network includes 168 directly operated stores, 72 corners within El Corte Inglés shopping centers, and 289 franchised stores. Internationally, Sfera operates 57 directly operated stores in Mexico (up 2) through a joint venture, and 289 franchised stores across 16 markets, including Chile (61 stores), Switzerland (52 stores), Peru (45 stores), Thailand (42 stores), and Ireland (22 stores).

The remaining points of sale within El Corte Inglés's retail business line include 46 outlet fashion centers (down 6), a single Sportown sports chain store (down 5), two TMJ young fashion stores, and 14 branches of its El Corte Inglés Empresas business line (down 1). The broader commercial network is completed by stable points of sale for other key business lines: Grupo Viajes El Corte Inglés with 721 locations, Sicor with 13 commercial branches, and Editorial Cera with one point of sale, consistent with 2023.