The classics do not die, but the demand for new technologies is also growing. The dichotomy summarizes the 2022-2023 Christmas and Three Kings campaign in stores in Tenerife. A positive season and, with a couple of days to go, with results even above expectations, as assessed by the sector. From the usual establishments, those in urban centers, in the case of downtown Santa Cruz –yesterday the capital of vehicle queues once again– to the neuralgic points of the expansion area of Cabo-Llanos. Alfredo Medina, Director of Communication, Sustainability and Institutional Relations of the El Corte Inglés Group in Canary Islandsacts as a guide on the path of recovery after exiting the covid-19 tunnel. For three years the pandemic prevented the normal development of these days of frenetic activity on the border of one year and the beginning of the other.
Iván asked for the Incredible Hulk last year, when he was 4. Now he goes to the world of dinosaurs, planets and galaxies. Dimi, at three years old, follows him in the fashion of asking for the figures of extinct animals millions of years ago. These little bugs never fail on wish lists. This year combined with other classics, such as educational games, Monopoly, Parchís and the Goose or the Lego universe. On the other side, interactive dolls of all kinds, wireless headphones or video games that are increasingly more advanced in their design.
Whether in the open spaces of the center, in the area of the closed shopping centers or in the craft markets of the Plaza del Príncipe in the capital or the Plaza del Adelantado in La Laguna, people do not stop looking for their gift and that is how they are expected to continue until today’s magical night.
Alfredo Medina explains that the illusion is “intact” and not only among children. He glimpses frantic days in which Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar will go crazy to get the turboman on duty or its equivalent –remember that Schwarzenegger movie, A father in trouble–. Like Arnold in 1996 they must hurry because stocks are running out. Medina agrees that there are five large blocks in which supply and demand converge: technology and electronics; books; cosmetics and perfumes; clothes and shoes and, of course, toys for the little ones, those who keep the illusion of a magical night that should not be missed.
technology and electronics
The field is inexhaustible. From air fryers to consoles – or rather, to next-generation video games – or wireless headphones, key finders or smart glasses. A gift option that includes the vintage touch of the turntable for vinyl, again on the rise today.
Books
A downtown bookstore is the information point to find out what to buy. The late Almudena Grandes and her Everything is going to get better or Juan Gómez-Jurado with Everything Burns open up the options. Along the lines of the best-seller All Those Things I’ll Tell You Tomorrow by Elisabet Benavent. The top five are completed by Javier Rovira’s Mala Mar or in the historical novel Las horas huecas by Ferron Vallespinós. Just a suggestion because in books, as in almost everything, there are colors for tastes. And there is always recourse to the classics or the authors of the land.
Cosmetics and perfumes
They orient themselves in a shop around Calle Castillo. From specific skin care packs to a set for deep facial cleansing, including a Wow-effect mask –perfect to wear on a special occasion–, as well as a body care lot or a limited edition SkinClinic Advent calendar that includes the best-selling products of the brand so that you do not have to choose. Another classic gift: perfumes. From Coco Madmosielle by Chanel to OK One, by Calvin Klein, Classique, by Jen Paul Gaultier, Angel by Mugler or Good Girl by Carolina Herrera. To choose.
clothing and footwear
Follow the route. Also in the center, a small store where the Christmas campaign “is going very well.” They sell clothes but include footwear in their suggestions: Ugg and Cow Boy-style boots, a double-sided jacket, jumpsuit pajamas that look like they’re for sleeping but aren’t, or mid-waist pants with a hidden zipper. Trends that do not outshine other types of traditional clothing that “people wear the same way.” Point and separate for the sports concept that is synonymous with success. They guarantee the brand, but it is common for you to find the products, if you look carefully, at a much lower price.
Toys
Alfredo Medina explains the phenomenon of the Nelflix series Gabby, which has powerful merchandising around it. He notes that “it’s time for tradition like stuffed animals and even ’90s tamagochi has been resurrected.” Or the fever of the Lego universe, “not only for children, but for adults with real fanciness in a freaky world focused on that.” He also mentions educational board games or puzzles. The star of this year is the interactive doll in its many facets and models.
Medina recalls that “sectors such as toy sell these days 70% of the merchandise for the entire year. In general, it can account for a third of the annual trade. He stresses that “the campaign is going well and the end of the restrictions encourages people to go out and recover all the traditions. Among them, walking, searching and buying to then give away ».
Medina explains that El Corte Inglés – which inaugurated its center in Cabo-Llanos on October 7, 2001 – maintains the response that we always give to customers. A careful attention and always according to your needs. Now focused on “offering an endearing Christmas and for all the public.”
This means that “we have had to divide the offer between the physical and that focused on the Internet, the digital one that is increasingly booming and has grown a lot, even more so after the pandemic.” He emphasizes: “It is, as I said at the beginning, the combination of tradition and new times that is the formula for success.” He stresses that “this year’s process has gone very well in stages: Black Friday, December Bridge, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and Epiphany.” He is clear that “I give away games like Monopoly because there is nothing like spending time with him. And many books. Few things are more valuable and useful than a good book.
Agustín did not know what to give his mother, Carmen, 80 years old. Choose something different from the typical perfumes or scarves. He will bring you a plant on Three Kings Day. Sample of the variety of offer and the many options of the demand.
