Alex Trelinski
SPAIN’S big time for bargains- the annual January sales- officially start this Tuesday- the day after the Three Kings holiday.
Though sales happen at other times of the year, with the ‘Black Friday’ period a relatively new addition, there is a symbolic element about the January discounts when stock clearances take place.
Some smaller retailers have begun already but most of the big stores are using online availability to start on Three Kings Day itself(January 6).
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El Corte Ingles commences their sales online from 9am on Monday- 24 hours ahead of their stores- with discounts running until February 28.
Fashion chain Sfera- owned by El Corte Ingles- fired the starting pìstol online on January 1 with shops entering the fray on Thursday.
The Inditex group with brands like Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Zara Home will start their sales online on Monday.
The length of the sales period is not known but last year, the shops carried on discounting until March 6.
Mango also gets in with online sales on Monday.
One big exception to timings is the fashion retailer, H&M, which started its sales last Saturday offering reductions of up to 50% on selected items.
In sports goods, the French-owned Decathlon commences its sales from January 6 through to March 2.
In beauty and perfumery, the Primor chain has already started its January promotion.
Anti-ageing creams, lipsticks and perfumes have discounts of up to 58%.
According to a survey by the Spanish Association of Consumers, this year’s average sales spend will be €181- €17 more than last year.
That’s despite 81% of people responding to the view that they won’t see many- if any- discounts during January and February.
