El Corte Inglés turns department stores into logistics centers

El Corte Inglés has redesigned its distribution network in Spain. The department store chain turned 90 of its stores across Spain into online logistics centers. El Corte Inglés wants to accelerate its online sales and further compete with Amazon.

The group has increased its distribution capacity by using department stores as distribution centers. It enables them to unify inventory and to control stocks in real-time.

“Our extensive network of stores allows us to maximize the efficiency of our stock and provides us with a competitive delivery time from our online store, not only in Madrid and Barcelona, ​​but throughout Spain“, the company explains.

93 logistics centers

For its ecommerce logistics, the Spanish group now has a total of 93 centers, three of which are specialized platforms in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands. The remaining 90 are department stores that have been redesigned to also take on logistics hub operations.

2,000 stores can be reached

This network of hubs can reach 2,000 of its stores in Spain. For 82 percent of people in Spain there’s an El Corte Inglés store less than 40 minutes away by car. The group says it also wants to promote in-store collection through services such as Click & Collect and Click & Car.