Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
El Corte Ingles has announced an expansion of its Las Lagunas center, which will provide more retail choices for Costa del Sol and Mijas shoppers. At the moment, only three floors with 14,500 sqm of space are operational. The plan is to expand this space to over 22,000 square meters and to bring back every standard department by the start of Christmas shopping this year. This move will reverse several years of reduced operation at the site.
Site background – Since 2021, a discount outlet store for odd and ends
Operators will begin introducing a outlet format in 2021. The upper area was filled with fashion and accessory brands at reduced prices. Hipercor, a supermarket with limited services, was located downstairs. Although the electronics section was given extra attention, overall selections remained smaller than those at other El Corte Ingles branches on the Costa del Sol at that time. It was a bargain-bucket department store.
The original store, built in the early 2000s, was part of a large-scale expansion plan across Spain. The rapid expansion, which included a second store in La Coruña, the company’s first stores in El Ejido, Salamanca, and the Mijas store, were frowned upon by many in high positions in the company, especially as there were already signs of a serious global financial crisis on the horizon at the time. Previously, El Corte Inglés was largely considered a higher-end establishment for customers with generally more acquisitive power than most, and these new locations were thought of as places where the clientele would not meet that economic criteria.
After the financial crash, many of the new builds, like Mijas, ended up being converted into ‘outlets’, or discount stores used to get rid of old stock at discounted prices. However, with the Mijas economy rising in the ranks of financial well-being, it seems the company has reconsidered and decided to restore the full El Corte Inglés standard to the site.
New facilities and upgrades are underway
You can also find out more about the A-Team here. Club del Gourmet It is expected to open in July. Hipercor The August edition will include a section for ready-to-eat dishes. Clothing sections have been added to the Unit Home range. Electronics is receiving new investments and updates. This is part of the return to the full range of services and departments that customers expect. The selection of fashion and homewares will be broader to match the other major centres.
Job creation and regional growth context
The total number of staff is now 500. The centre is a local service for around 250,000 people. This number doubles during the high season. This project starts an accelerated growth programme for El Corte Inglés across Costa del Sol stores, including those in Malaga and Marbella. Other positions include sales, logistic and customer service.
Noteworthy:
By the way, Did you know El Corte Inglés hires English-speaking staff? The company is looking for a variety of positions, especially those in multi-lingual regions like Mijas. And also, especially in the ‘personal shopper’ category, who are often sought by the company to cater, often, to the wealthier foreign customers. If you consider yourself an ‘expert shopper’, this could be your calling!
Timeline for final access and roll-out
Full operations target the Christmas campaign The period of 2026. The site is accessible via the existing road network, which has 1733 parking spots (even though it’s a confusing one-way system). Bus routes from Fuengirola and nearby towns plus Cercanías train connections remain unchanged throughout the works. During the next phases of improvements, opening hours will remain unchanged.
