El Corte Ingles has revealed a 4% rise in annual profits from their supermarket brands, spurred by the policy over the past number of years to cut prices on thousands of FMCG products. In June 2012, the decision was made to reduce the price of FMCG items in El Corte Ingles stores by 20%, and since then prices have fallen by another 5%. The supermarket chain say that every single item they sell is reviewed weekly in a thorough market analysis, to determine whether a price change is needed, and in the case of fresh produce this review is carried out daily.
"With this strategy we have managed to increase the average spend per receipt and increase footfall," explains Victor del Pozo, El Corte Ingles spokesperson.
There's no denying its success, revenue climbed to over €3 billion over the 12 months to 28 February.
"All the brands of the group have noticed an improvement," said del Pozo, who added that sales in early 2014 have been stronger than in the same period last year.
Group Chairman Isidoro Alvarez has announced that a new campaign, entitled "Get Used To Our Further New Prices", will expand cuts to 8,000 products.
