Spanish retailer El Corte Inglés has announced that it has increased the size of its board of directors to 11 members, as part of a strategic plan to "take advantage of the strengths that differentiate us from our competitors", according to Jesús Nuño de la Rosa, the retailer's president.
At the company's annual shareholder meeting, the Spanish retailer's shareholders announced the extension of the board, as well as the incorporation of a non-executive director, Fernando Becker, onto the board.
The appointment of Becker, a professor of economics, 'will mean greater professionalisation of the Board and a new advance in corporate governance', El Corte Inglés said.
"We want to give a new impulse in transparency and good corporate governance," de la Rosa said.
de la Rosa was appointed president of the retailer in June, with the mandate to better position the retailer to meet the 'challenges of the future'.
Seeking Differentiation
Addressing the shareholders meeting, de la Rosa outlined the need for El Corte Inglés to "detect opportunities for improvement" in an increasingly complex environment, pointing to three axes on which its strategy pivots.
"Firstly, we need to offer a great showcase of brands, including our own; secondly: omnichannel should be a fundamental objective – our stores, physical or online, should be the best; and thirdly: internationalisation should be a lever that complements our current activity," he said.
He also outlined that El Corte Inglés should no longer discuss the concepts of 'online' and 'offline' sales – that consumers today demand a seamless experience.
"Consumers require integrated experiences between the physical and digital channels, without friction," he said. "It is a cultural transformation, because there is no longer a physical business and another online; rather there is now a single integrated business."
Sales Performance
The group's turnover increased 2.8% for the full year, to €15.9 billion, the retailer said, with EBITDA rising 7.4% to €1.05 billion. Consolidated net profit reached €202 million.
The group said that its online retail arm saw a 32% increase in orders last year, and a 26% increase in sales.
"I count on each and every one of you to continue building El Corte Inglés in the 21st century, with the modernity that the present demands from us, and the responsibility that the future imposes on us," de la Rosa told shareholders.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
