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Tag: madrid

  • Klarna enters Spain retail market

    Klarna enters Spain retail market

    Klarna officially launches in Spain by introducing ”Pay in 3”. Shoppers who use Klarna in a retailer’s checkout will be able to buy online and split their purchase into three equal payments with no added interest.

    Klarna will go live with Michael Kors at the end of July with many more well-known brands to follow shortly.

    With the launch of ”Pay in 3” (”Paga en tres plazos”), Spanish shoppers will be able to spread the cost of their purchase over three instalments, charged every 30 days.

    The payment solution comes at no interest or fee when users pay on time. A

    long with the new offer, Klarna will also introduce the Klarna app shortly which allows users to keep track of their payments, pay off existing payments, as well as find inspiration. 

    Spain is more digitalized as ever

    Klarna is launching in Spain at a time when the Spanish society becomes more and more digital.

    According to Statista, revenue from eCommerce in Spain is expected to grow on an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2024) of 7.6%, resulting in a projected market volume of €22.9 billion by 2024.

    This is also shown in other figures: 7 in 10 Spaniards between 18-65 years old bought online in 2019, which represents almost 20.3 million people.

    Although the computer is still king, is the fact that the use of mobile for eCommerce grows steadily year over year and it is already being used by 53% of online shoppers (VI Annual Study of eCommerce in Spain, IAB Spain and Elogia, 2019).

  • Hotel Villa Magna, first hotel in Spain under Rosewood Hotels & Resorts brand

    Hotel Villa Magna, first hotel in Spain under Rosewood Hotels & Resorts brand

    Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has been selected by RLH Properties and owner of Hotel Villa Magna in Madrid, Spain, to manage the iconic property.

    This will be the brand’s first hotel in Spain and fourth operation in Europe, where Rosewood is also expanding into other prime locations.

    The property will debut as Rosewood Villa Magna following a refurbishment, during which the property will remain open, that will incorporate a contemporary design, displaying an inspired interpretation of Spain’s capital city.

    The hotel is centrally located, immediately neighboring the prestigious Serrano shopping district, and other well-known nearby landmarks such as the Golden Triangle of Art, home to the Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofía Museums.

    Villa Magna is currently closed as a precautionary measure due to COVID-19 and will reopen on September 1, 2020 operating independently until Rosewood assumes management once the refurbishment works have come to an end towards late 2021.

  • Two new Ramada by Wyndham hotels in Spain

    Two new Ramada by Wyndham hotels in Spain

    Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company with 9,300 hotels across 90 countries, announced the expansion of its Ramada by Wyndham brand in Spain.

    The upcoming openings are Ramada by Wyndham Madrid Tres Cantos and Ramada by Wyndham Valencia Almussafes hotels.

    The brand entered in Spain in late 2019 with Ramada by Wyndham Madrid Getafe.

    These two new properties are owned by Covivio Hotels and are managed by hotel management company Hotel Collection International.

    The hotels build upon Ramada by Wyndham’s broader European portfolio, which includes locations in destinations like Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Germany, Belgium, the UK and the Netherlands, amongst others.

    Ramada by Wyndham Valencia Almussafes will open its doors on July 1

    The hotel is located minutes from the Rey Juan Carlos Business Park and offers accessibility to the City of Arts & Sciences opera house, science museum, aquarium and much more.

    Ideal for business and leisure guests, the 133-room hotel features a 24-hour, fully-equipped private gym, a seasonal outdoor swimming pool with a beautiful garden and landscaped sundeck, as well as an on-site restaurant and bar.

    Three meeting rooms complete with audio-visual capabilities are also available on-site and can accommodate up to 120 conference guests.  

    Ramada by Wyndham Madrid Tres Cantos is still under development

    The hotel is scheduled to open in September, 2020. The hotel is located in a corporate location North of Madrid with convenient access to the Euronova Business Park, as well as a nearby train connection to the city centre, making it suitable for those travelling either for business or pleasure.

    Surrounded by restaurants and conveniently close to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, this 61-room contemporary hotel offers guests a fitness centre, an all-day snack bar and three versatile meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 70 guests or 60 banquet guests.

  • How Covid-19 crisis will impact economies in Italy and Spain

    How Covid-19 crisis will impact economies in Italy and Spain

    According to Coface forecasts, Spain and Italy will be among the economies hardest hit by COVID-19, contracting by 12.8% and 13.6% respectively in 2020.

    Corporate insolvencies are expected to increase by 22% in Spain and 37% in Italy by 2021, relative to 2019 levels.

    For 2021, Coface forecasts that Spain and Italy’s GDP will rebound by 10.2% and 8.9%, leaving the economies 3.9% and 5.9% below 2019 levels.

    Higher prevalence of vulnerable enterprises in Italy with the spectre of zombie firms

    In order to assess the potential impact of this GDP contraction on company balance sheets, Coface ran simulations on the evolution of corporate solvency, using data from the Spanish and Italian central banks that accounts for differences across sectors and firm sizes.

    Even though interest rates are extremely low, corporate over-indebtedness is associated with depressed private investment. As a result, the COVID-19 crisis could exert durable downward pressure on a country’s growth potential, accelerating the “Japanization” of the eurozone.

    With this in mind, the balance sheets of Spanish and Italian companies should be analysed more closely. Examining the distribution of debt and liquidity in the corporate sector in Southern Europe should help to identify pockets of vulnerability.

    The current financial situation of companies in Spain and Italy is healthier than on the eve of the 2009 global financial crisis.

    Since then, Spanish companies have managed to significantly reduce their debt by 20 percentage points, reaching 37% of their assets in the third quarter of 2019.

    Italian companies have also improved their financial situation since the 59% peak in Q4 2011, albeit to a lesser degree. With a debt ratio of 50%, businesses in Italy are now the most indebted among the major European economies.

    The growing mismatch between financing and investment can be indicative of a high prevalence of “zombie” firms in Italy – companies steeped in debt that will not be able to sowing the seeds of future growth.

    Sectors at risk: automotive, construction, and retail

    Coface expects the vulnerability of firms to differ according to their sectors and size, not only in terms of the intensity of the shocks, but also given the pre-coronavirus fragility of their balance sheets.

    The major car manufacturers could be in difficulty because of their habit of keeping little liquidity: at the end of 2018, cash reserves as a percentage of sales were only 2.7% in Italy and 0.5% in Spain.

    As for the retail and construction sectors, with high leverage and low projected interest coverage rates, they appear particularly vulnerable, as do Italy’s small textile manufacturers.

    Coface observes a higher prevalence of potentially vulnerable companies in Italy. In most cases, this can be explained by lower initial cash flow, lower profitability, and slightly slower cost adjustments.

    In this context, many companies would survive only at the cost of substantially higher levels of debt.

  • RIU reopens all hotels in Spain, between 15 June and the first week of July

    RIU reopens all hotels in Spain, between 15 June and the first week of July

    Following the international tourism hiatus caused by COVID-19, RIU Hotels is gradually taking up operations again.

    In Spain, the chain has scheduled the opening of 15 hotels in all the destinations where it is represented, which are: Madrid, Mallorca, Formentera, Cádiz, Málaga, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.

    The hotels will open between 15 June and the first week of July.

    The first Spanish hotels to open are the Riu Bravo and Riu Concordia hotels in Playa de Palma, Mallorca. They are working in partnership with the Balearic Government and RIU’s partner, TUI, to carry out the safe tourism test that started on the island on 15 June. Riu Plaza España in the centre of Madrid opened on the same day.

    In the Canary Islands, the first hotel to welcome back its guests will be Riu Gran Canaria, located in the south of the island. It opens on 19 June, along with two of the chain’s hotels in Andalusia, Riu Chiclana and Riu Costa del Sol, as well as Riu La Mola in Playa de Migjorn on Formentera.

    On 26 June, they will be joined by the Riu Palace Meloneras and Riu Palace Tres Islas hotels, located on Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura respectively, while 1 July is the scheduled date to reopen the Riu Calypso hotel, also on Fuerteventura, and Riu Paraiso Lanzarote.

    The following day, Tenerife will return to action with the opening of Riu Palace Tenerife, shortly followed by Riu Palace Palmeras (Gran Canaria), Riu Arecas (Tenerife) and Riu Nautilus (Torremolinos).

    The chain has also reopened operations in a total of 15 more countries, with hotels open or about to open in: Germany, Mexico, United States, Bulgaria, Portugal, Ireland, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Morocco, Zanzibar and Sri Lanka.

  • Smart EV charging company, Wallbox, completes a $25M investment

    Smart EV charging company, Wallbox, completes a $25M investment

    Wallbox announced the closing of a $13 million USD (€12 million) second tranche of Series A investment in early March, bringing the total Series A round to $25 million USD (€23 million).

    The round was led by Seaya Ventures, a Spanish venture fund focused on technology companies, with additional investment from Endeavor Catalyst and existing investors such as Iberdrola (IBDSF), a Spanish multinational electric utility company.

    The funds raised will be used to drive Wallbox’s international growth in China and North America, and to continue to expand its technology innovation and R&D efforts.

    Wallbox began its expansion into the Chinese and North American markets in 2019. With its Chinese company Wallbox FAWSN Charging Systems Co Ltd., a joint venture with Changchun FAWSN of China, Wallbox manufactures EV chargers for the Chinese market in Suzhou, 100 km west of Shanghai. The initial capacity in Suzhou is 100,000 chargers per year.

    Wallbox in US

    In the U.S., Wallbox opened its Silicon Valley office last year to distribute its EV chargers to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company presented its Pulsar Plus and Quasar chargers ahead of the forthcoming U.S. launch this fall and won four “Best of CES” awards from Engadget, Robb Report, Electrek and Newsweek.

    Wallbox’s Quasar was also selected as a finalist for Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards in the energy category and received an honorable mention in the general excellence and consumer products categories.

    Wallbox designs, develops and manufactures intelligent charging solutions for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids for both domestic and business use.

  • Health startup MediQuo closes €2M funding round

    Health startup MediQuo closes €2M funding round

    MediQuo secured an investment of 2 million euros at the beginning of January 2020, from several renowned investors from the health sector as well as from various Venture Capital investors and Family Offices, with a track record in the digital health space.

    All existing investors have joined the round. With the new funding round, which includes all current shareholders, MediQuo can continue its momentum as the leading company in the Spanish medical startup sector.

    MediQuo also announces an addition to its management team. Bruno Cuevas will join the company as Co-CEO, along with founder and Co-CEO Dr Guillem Serra. Bruno is the former Vice President of Global Markets at Adevinta/Schibsted, a global group of leading online marketplaces, where he was responsible for an international portfolio of operations in Europe, Asia, Latin America and North Africa.

    He has also been board member in numerous international marketplaces, including Schibsted Spain (Fotocasa, Infojobs, Milanuncios, coches.net, etc.). Before Adevinta, he worked at Groupon and in strategy consulting.

    MediQuo will launch its PRO app

    MediQuo will soon launch its PRO app, which will allow doctors and health professionals to manage consultations online for both their own patients as well as for the users of the app.

    This is in compliance with the European GDPR regulation at all times, thus reinforcing patient and doctor confidentiality.

    With the launch of MediQuo PRO the company aims to reach a total of 14,000 health professionals and to be able to manage 1.5 million patient consultations within the next 15 months.

    This Spanish startup was founded by Guillem Serra, a medical doctor, mathematician, founder and investor in multiple startups, together with Albert Castells and José López, also founders of iSalud.com.

    Since its launch 2 years ago, MediQuo has received 4 million euros in funding. Its app has been installed by nearly 600,000 users and has been able to manage nearly one million medical consultations, multiplying by 10 the sale of premium subscriptions over the last year.

  • Tony Roma’s opens a new restaurant in Madrid

    Tony Roma’s opens a new restaurant in Madrid

    • Tony Roma’s, a casual dining concept specializing in ribs, opened its 37th restaurant in Spain and 21st restaurant in Madrid.
    • Led by partner Beer & Food, this multi-brand company took control as the master franchisee in 2018 and has created tremendous growth throughout the country.

    “We are proud to help grow the Tony Roma’s brand, offering outstanding dining experiences in Spain and beyond,” said Beer & Food CEO Sergio Rivas.

    “Whether you are a first-time guest or a lifelong fan, the brand has a unique way of drawing people in from around the world with its quality food, excellent service and relaxed environment that keeps guests coming back again.”

    The brand-new restaurant is located at Plaza República de Ecuador and is 261 square meters. It is surrounded by both businesses and bustling residential areas, making it a hotspot for travelers, families and anyone looking to enjoy great food and refreshing drinks.

    This Tony Roma’s location seats up to 119 people throughout an main dining room, a bar complete with multiple TVs, and an outdoor patio area.

    “We’re proud to call Madrid home to more than 20 restaurants,” said President and CEO, John Brisco of Romacorp, Inc.

    “Tony Roma’s has been a guest favorite in Spain for more than two decades, and we are proud to work with such a dedicated team, as they continue to bring the Tony Roma’s brand experience and our World-Famous Baby Back Ribs to new fans throughout the country.”

  • Inditex: new records for revenues, profits and cash în H1 2019

    Inditex posted record levels of net sales, profits and cash for a first half. Net sales topped €12.82 billion for the first time, year-on-year growth of 7%. Net profit hit a new milestone of €1.55 billion, up 10% year-on-year and net cash increased by 13% to €6.73 billion, the highest level ever.

    Inditex net sales increased by 7% in the first half of 2019 (1 February – 31 July), topping €12.82 billion for the first time. In local currencies, sales growth was 7%.

    The solid business performance drove first-half net profit to €1.55 billion, reflecting year-on-year growth of 10% (1H18: €1.41 billion). This figure includes the impact of the new lease accounting standard, IFRS 16, without which profit growth would have been 7%.

    The group maintained its strong cash generation: the net cash position increased by 13% to a record €6.73 billion.

    Inditex’s Executive Chairman, Pablo Isla, underscored the „strong first half performance reflected in these figures, with like-for-like growth across all brands and geographies. The investments we have made in the stores as well as in logistics and technology have been key elements in the development of our customer focused integrated online and offline store platform”.

    Stores and online sales in local currencies increased 8% between 1st August and 8th September. Management estimates a sales growth of 4%-6% in FY2019.

    Highlights for the first half of the year

    During the first half of 2019, zara.com introduced its online platform in Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Indonesia, Serbia and Israel. In August, Zara inaugurated its online platform in Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and Oman.

    It is also due to launch the platform in South Africa (18 September), the Ukraine, Colombia and the Philippines during the third quarter.

    In all, at the July close, the group had 7.420 stores in 96 markets and the integrated online platform was available in 62 of those. The online stores of Zara, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius, Oysho and Uterqüe are also available in an additional 106 markets without physical stores, with Bershka scheduled to follow suit this September.

    This digitally-driven investment plan is being complemented by the constant upgrading and modernisation of the group’s logistics facilities. The construction work on the new digital production building to provide photography for zara.com in Arteixo (La Coruña, Spain) continues to make good progress and work has also begun on expanding the group’s technological and data processing capacity in A Laracha (La Coruña, Spain).

    Meanwhile, the construction and commissioning work at the logistics connection hub in Lelystad (Netherlands) remains on track. The new platform has successfully completed the tests performed in recent months and will be partially commissioned during the second half, ahead of schedule; it will be fully operational in 2020.

    New Zara stores in iconic flagship locations

    Zara opened stores in Hudson Yards (New York, US), Cannes (France), the Time World Mall (Dajeon, Korea), Rome (Italy), Warsaw (Poland) – as Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Zara Home.

    More recently, Zara has inaugurated a new store in Pamplona (Spain) in an emblematic building which the brand has brought back to life for the city.

    Tomorrow (12 September), Zara will open its expanded store in Dubai Mall, the largest single-storey Zara store in the world, with a floor space of over 5,000 square metres that will house the full women’s, men’s and kids collections.

    Also tomorrow, the expanded Zara store on calle Preciados, one of the busiest shopping streets in Madrid, will reopen. The store has a floor space of over 4,000 square metres over six floors, in which Zara will unveil its latest image and newest customer experience-enhancing technology.