Spanish fashion retailer Tendam will maintain free returns, combining online and in-store sales

MADRID, June 23 (Reuters) – Spanish fashion retailer Tendam, which like others has rebounded from the pandemic in part by boosting online sales, will stick to free clothing returns, its CEO has said. to Reuters, despite the practice dragging on some rival digital retailers.

The owner of the Women’Secret and Cortefiel chains believes the best way for fashion retailers to make a profit is to integrate online and physical businesses.

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Tendam President and CEO Jaume Miquel said charging for returns was a mistake. “It feels like we’re trying to make customers feel guilty. Companies have to engage in self-reflection when they get 40% returns,” he said in an interview at the headquarters of the company in Madrid.

Miquel said online sales worked best when customers had the ability to choose and return clothes from physical stores.

“I would not like the commercial map of Spain to be made up of the yellow boxes of the Amazon service points (…) the stores contribute to improving people’s quality of life,” Miquel added.

Nearly 70% of Tendam’s online customers return their in-store purchases and the return rate is 21%.

Tendam reported on Thursday that its sales rose 43.3% to 1.1 billion euros from March 2021 to February 2022, in line with pre-pandemic levels. Digital sales increased by 30.4% last year compared to 2020 and by 95.6% compared to 2019.

Tendam’s shareholders include buyout funds PAI and CVC.

The third Spanish clothing group in terms of turnover has 1,805 physical stores – 1,200 of which it operates itself – in the markets of Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. It plans to open more in Mexico and the Iberian Peninsula, but not in China and the United States amid excessive competition. It will also add more than 100 top brands like Levis and UGG to its digital platform.

Tendam’s physical and online sales in Russia accounted for 2% of its revenue before the invasion of Ukraine. They will remain suspended while the company assesses whether to reopen or close permanently or operate through local partners as companies like Mango do.

“I want to take at least six months to make up my mind,” Miquel said.

Reporting by Corina Pons, editing by Aislinn Laing, Elaine Hardcastle

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