El Corte Ingles will fight Sunday closing

EL Corte Ingles has appealed against Alicante City’s ban on Sunday opening in Avenida Maisonnave.

City hall provided insufficient reasons for the veto which lacks convincing technical reports, the chain store’s legal advisers maintained.  If El Corte Ingles closes on Sundays and national holidays apart from the permitted 10 days each year, the chain will lose an annual €5.4 million. This will also put 170 jobs at risk, the lawyers pointed out.

The company is confident that its appeal to the regional government’s economy department will be settled favourably within a month. If not, it will apply to the CNMC, Spain’s Markets and Competition regulator, but does not plan to take legal action.

Excluding big stores in the heart of the city’s shopping area from opening on Sundays is intended to draw shoppers to smaller businesses, although many in the centre want them to remain open to attract custom. 

Others would prefer only shops along the Rambla and seafront to open on Sundays and national holidays.  “We don’t want any Sunday opening at all,” said Luis Luna, president of the Maisonnave association of small and medium sized shops.