The former head of El Corte will create a competitor to Primark and Amazon

The first WOW department store will open in Spain’s capital.

Subsequently, the company plans to develop a whole network of stores for the new brand and an online trading platform.

Dimas Gimeno, former president of Europe’s largest department store chain El Corte lnglés, will create its department store brand. Gimeno plans to develop a chain WOW and recently announced that the first store would open soon in Spain’s capital. 

The new store will open its doors on one of Madrid’s main shopping streets – Gran Via. The area of the store will be about 5 500 sq.m. Work on the reconstruction of the premises is already underway, with plans to complete it by April 2021. The store will sell a variety of items, from home accessories to fashion and sportswear. 

In addition to the flagship store, several temporary stores in different locations will soon be opening under the WOW brand. The pop-up stores will offer customers a range of products, and they will completely change the assortment every six months. 

Along with physical stores, the new brand’s creators also rely on digital technology for their products. WOW will be developed as a platform for e-commerce. The store will offer the most famous brands from around the world. As expected, the WOW trading platform will become one of the industry leaders. The new brand will compete with such renowned department store chains as El Corte lnglés and popular brands such as Primark and large retailers, including Amazon. 

Reports are that the new department store brand has received support from the U.S. investment fund FJLabs and several other investors. An initial investment in the project amounted to about $2.8 million. Still, by the end of 2020, it is planned to hold another stage of fundraising.