Spain’s economy expected to thrive as January sales set to boost nationwide profits

SPAIN’S Government has predicted a boost for the Spanish economy at the start of the new decade, where January sales are expected to positively impact nationwide trade. 

As the day of the Three King’s brings an end to the festive celebrations across the country, many will descend to the shops on January 7, digging through a treasure trove of goods marked at a significantly lower price.

Spain is home to a plethora of home grown brands and department stores, high up on the list of favourites for Spaniards, tourists and the thousands of European expats. Inditex, one of the world’s largest fashion retailers with eight distinct brands including Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterqüe, will officially commence their sales tomorrow. A study conducted by Fintonic Technology predicts that the multi-million euro group will pull in its highest profits this week, where they indicate Spaniards will spend an average of €82 euros each at the multinational company whose headquarters are in Galicia. 

Spain’s largest department store, El Corte Ingles, is also set for a good start to the month, where its online store has already began its January sales today, offering discounts up to a whopping 50%. These will be rolled out across the country tomorrow, boosting sales on the high street.

Tendam, one of Europe’s leading fashion retailers established in 1880 as a family-run haberdashery store on Calle Romanones in Spain’s capital of Madrid also made a quick start to their January sales, which commenced on January 1 online. Owning big brands including Cortefiel, Pedro del Hierro, Springfield, Women’Secret and Fifty Factory, the group is hoping to exceed their annual revenue this year, which last year saw tax profits surpassing €80.8 million.

For the small and medium sized businesses, who in the last few years have been negatively impacted by the rise in online sales and new consumer patterns, business owners state mixed expectations over the January sales. For some it can prove to be an important period for trade, where shoppers are enticed into their stores in the hope of wrangling a good deal. 

However for many others, the pressure to compete with big name brands forces business owners to cut down on their costs of goods, where for those whose accounts are already dwindling, the January sales can threaten their survival.