wilki

I read somewhere on here that El Corte Inglés was up to the john lewis standard, I would have to say they are chalk and cheese apart. I would put el corte Ingles in the same leage as debanams, if that ,it might be the best spain has in department stores, but john lewis leaves them standing.
still everyone to there own.
does el corte ingles have a we wont be beaten on price, I dont know.

cricketman

That was probably me. El Corte Ingles is way above Debenhams in turns of what they stock. For example they have all the fashion labels, Diesel, La Coste, Hugo Boss, Levi etc, just like John Lewis have

You cant buy a 200 euro pear of jeans or sunglasses in Debenhams, but you certainly can in El Corte Ingles if you so wish. In fact I went looking for a tie and most of them were around 100 euros.

I used to shop at John Lewis in the UK and I now shop at El Corte Ingles in Spain and I'd say they are pretty similar

No there is no price guarentee, El Corte Ingles isnt about price, its about good customer service and a good range of quality goods

Rotor

Although pricey El Cores Ingles is better all round ,they even stock stock sporting goods which include firearms for hunting...imagine that in PC Britain!!!

steviedeluxe

I don't know if it's still the case, but El Corte Ingles was the biggest department store chain in Europe. They have a fantastic food selection too. However I am ambivalent about the place. Prices are normally high (great sales though), and not all their assistants are polite. Even so, if you're on holiday in peak summer it's often the best place to enter mid-afternoon just to escape the heat.

jackytoo

Yes you can buy 200 euro jeans in El Corte, wether they are worth it is another matter. Give me John Lewis anyday

cricketman

The only reason I can think why you would choose John Lewis is because it is British. As the stores are really so similar. In fact, El Corte Ingles may even be a little more upmarket

In that way, the old Q is. Why not go where the British things you like are? i.e. the UK?

I guess I am frustrated about the conversations in this forum. The opinion of those who live in Spain seems to be that Spain is a third world country, corrupt, with no jobs, unfriendly Spanairds, rubbish schools, crap food, bad TV, overpriced property etc etc... (not my experience btw)

So why on earth are you lot in Spain? Is it sun, sun, sun?

jackytoo

That's an unfair comment! I wasn't brought up in the UK. Nothing to do with J. Lewis being British. Try pricing some branded goods in Lewis and El Corte and see the difference! I did sort of come here for the weather and also because I am bi-lingual helped

Rotor

My personal views are:

Spain is a third world country,Its certainly not first world!

Corrupt,Corruption is rife but it dose seem to be getting better very slowly.

With no jobs, Unemployment is a problem for both Spanish and expats


Unfriendly Spanairds, Not true ,I find the Spanish very friendly and socialise regulary with them.

Rubbish schools, Not true, my children are in a Spanish school and we are very happy with the system.

Crap food, Many Cafe`s (chop,chips and salad) call themselves resturants ,maybe its a translation thing ,exceptional Spanish resturants are few and far between ,

Bad TV,Most Spaniards I speak to say this as well!!

Overpriced property etc ,its getting better!!

I`m happier living here than the U.K so thats why I choose to stay ,I like Spanish culture and life style ,the outdoors,etc,etc oh and the women are some of the best looking in europe!!
You may think I`m giving Spain a hard time but belive me I think the U.K is 10 times worse!!!

cricketman

Its nothing personal guys, its just that all the comments are so negative all the time. I guess it is human nature to complain, but it just depresses me


When it comes down to it, lots of British people go out of their way to live in Spain and like Rotor says they actually enjoy it (like he does) so there must be plenty of good things about Spain!

5 million people have flocked to Spain in the past few years, thats not bc its a 3rd world country. The quality of life indexes and happyness of children indexes consistently put Spain towards the top of the league tables and put the UK and US towards the bottom of the tables. So you could argue that the UK and US are 3rd world countries as they certainly give their residents a 3rd class lifestyle.

Brits constantly put law, order, convenience, consistency and money above their own happiness and the happiness of their children. That is what turns me off the country I was born and brought up in.

With these comments, I think I'll give the forum a break for a while

jo-ann

I find El Corte far superior to the John Lewis that we had near us in the UK, far bigger store, much more choice and they usually have it in stock, never found any problem with the assistants they have always been very helpful again better than those I have come across in the UK. So give me Spain any day, don't understand why some of the complainers ever came here in the first place, obviously didn't do their homework very well.

steviedeluxe

I think in terms of image and national identity, El Corte Ingles reminds me more of Marks and Spencer. I'm sure there's an advertising agency somewhere that makes a fortune from their El Corte account. Also, they both had policies of full refunds for goods returned.

It's also been rumoured that the board of El Corte Ingles are very powerful in political terms. During the large expansion of the metro system in Madrid over the last few years, many people told me that the siting of a station would be determined on whether El Corte Ingles would also place a store there. All hearsay of course, but you do wonder at times...

Carol&John

Sorry if this takes the thread off topic a bit, but didn't El Corte Ingles buy out an older firm in the 90s called Galerias Preciados (NO CERRRAMOS AL MEDIODIA)? I seem to remember the later was the place to go for school uniforms (in Madrid)?

steviedeluxe

I think it was the case that Galerias Preciados went bust. El Corte Ingles bought up those stores where it was profitable to do so, I believe

EDIT - Correction - El Corte Ingles did indeed take it over. Interesting reading in Wikipedia (Spanish only). It appears that the site where FNAC is now in Callao, Madrid, was the original store. Also it was a British group - MountLeigh - who controlled Galerias Preciados at the end.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galer%C3%ADas_Preciados

wilki

so we all have to sit back and say how bloody lovely spain is just because we choose to live here, where would you tell all the english to go that rant about the UK that live there.
theres alot of people with work, but alot in work, good schools & rubbish schools, crap food & good food, bad TV & more bad TV, over priced property same as UK.

whitelinen

yes they do