Spanish department store to take on Amazon with its own logistics arm

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Well-known Spanish department store El Corte Ingles is planning to set up its own logistics subsidiary, according to multiple media reports in Spain.

The project, which is currently in its „preliminary” stages and is expected to be up and running by the end of 2021, aims to help El Corte Ingles’ omnichannel strategy by strengthening the company’s warehousing and logistics operations.

As part of the plan, El Corte Inglés will create a new independent subsidiary in logistics (focused on storage and shipping management) to compete with Amazon. El Corte Ingles will also offer its infrastructure to third parties and aim to triple its business volume within a year,.

El Corte Ingles has reportedly been experiencing difficulties as a result of past capacity restrictions and closures of its branches. Nevertheless, the rise of ecommerce and online shopping could play into its their hands as the company has a large physical presence in Spanish cities. The plan, therefore, is to take advantage of the logistics infrastructure that El Corte Ingles already – its centrally located shopping centres and supermarkets.

Amid the growth in online sales, El Corte Ingles has launched a flat rate delivery system similar to Amazon Prime, whereby for 19, 90 euros per year shipping costs are eliminated. The service is restricted to about two million products, 300,000 of which can be delivered on the same-day.


Photo credit: CarlosVdeHabsburgo / Wikimedia Commons

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