El Corte Inglès

Spanish chain of department stores. It was established in 1934, two years before the outbreak of the Civil War, by RamÆn Rodriguez, who started the business in Madrid with a shop devoted to fabrics and English fashions, a specialty reflected in the company name. This business created an empire: more than 20 stores all over Spain where it is possible to find and buy everything from cooking pots to the ready-to-wear clothes of the great designers, as well as clothes made by the company itself. In fact, El Corte Inglès owns a textile mill and a manufacturing plant which, in the 1970s, used the consulting services of Guido Mantura, the manager of the Textile Financial Group.