What: El Corte Inglés shareholders approved the board’s proposals as Cristina Álvarez outlined a more ambitious strategic plan focused on stores, digital growth, AI and logistics.
Why it is important: The plan shows how El Corte Inglés is using stronger financial performance and renewed leadership to accelerate store, digital, AI and logistics transformation.
El Corte Inglés shareholders unanimously approved all board proposals at the group’s annual meeting in Madrid, including the management report, annual accounts, non-financial and sustainability report, application of results and the appointment of Javier Catena as CEO. Cristina Álvarez also outlined the pillars of an updated strategic plan, which will be presented to the board in September. The plan includes a more ambitious investment programme focused on business growth, logistics improvements and new technological capabilities. Álvarez highlighted customer service, product excellence and the physical store as strategic priorities, describing stores as key differentiators where experiences, human interaction and brand connection are created beyond transactions. She also stressed the growing role of the website and app as first points of contact for many customers, requiring continued investment in digital experience and personalisation. AI will support shopping personalisation, product availability, customer service and customer understanding. The group enters this phase with revenue of €17.247 billion, EBITDA up 4.7% and net profit up 22.8%.
IADS Notes: El Corte Inglés’s shareholders’ meeting confirms that the group’s next strategic phase will be built around investment, stores, digital growth, AI and logistics. In July 2025, Modaes and Fashion Network reported the launch of a €3 billion investment plan through 2030, focused on store modernisation, business expansion, logistics and technological capabilities. The updated direction was reinforced in July 2026, when Modaes reported that Cristina Álvarez would present a more ambitious strategic plan in September, positioning physical stores as experiential assets while making digital channels and AI central to growth and personalisation. The group’s ability to fund this agenda was supported by its June 2026 results, when a company press release reported double-digit profit growth, record-low debt, digital transformation, store modernisation and logistics innovation. Modaes also reported in January 2026 that Álvarez had strengthened digital, customer experience, operations and supply chain leadership while reorganising purchasing to improve category expertise and agility. By April 2026, Modaes framed the group’s direction as a shift toward growth through acquisitions, increased investment, digital transformation, logistics and organisational renewal.

El Corte Inglés shareholders approved the board’s strategic plan focused on stores, digital growth, AI and logistics