History
1945
The origins of Grup Tramuntana date back to this year, when a small shop called ‘Casa Raurich’ selling groceries was opened in El Portús, a village on the border between Spain and France. The prime location of La Jonquera has always stimulated commercial activity between the two countries, especially since the 1960s when the boom in tourism began to take off.
1967
Josep Raurich and Marissé Santaló embarked on the first major expansion of the business. They built a large shopping centre with the name of ‘Tramuntana’. The first supermarket was set up in this large space selling primarily food and drink products, but also gift and decorative items plus shoes and leather goods.
1979
Expansions and improvements continued in what was already the leading shopping outlet in El Portús.
1995
The expansion of Grup Tramuntana towards La Jonquera began, with the opening of new shopping centres: large supermarkets with restaurants and service stations. The aim was to attract lorry drivers who were constantly growing in number and required specific services. Between 1995 and 2006, 4 supermarkets were opened in La Jonquera.
2001
The expansion of Grup Tramuntana extended to the world of the selective perfume shop with collaboration agreements with the Marionnaud brand.
2005
Hotel Tramuntana was opened at a time when the lack of comfortable, quality hotel options was detected to accommodate both travellers and professionals who arrived from La Jonquera during this phase of economic growth.
2008
The time was right to enter the world of fashion, footwear and accessories. The takeover of the former Pelegrí Shopping Centre in El Portús permitted the considerable expansion of the shopping space allocated to fashion.
2009
Grup Tramuntana became a franchisee of Mango, opening the first MANGO shop in El Portús.
2010
Attention turned to catering, when the group undertook the direct management of the restaurants located in its own commercial centres, which had been leased to third parties up to this point.
2013
The fashion division was by now generating a significant volume of business. There were 4 fashion and accessories shops, the most notable of which were 3 MANGO shops and 4 Desigual spaces and D-Shop.
2018
The Frontera, La Catalane and Wolala del Portús centres were refurbished.
2019
Grup Tramuntana expands into the online business with the opening of the online supermarket La Tramuntana Store and the sale of products in different marketplaces
2020
The Éclair Parfumeries brand is created, the new perfumery brand of the Tramuntana Group that is committed to a close relationship with the customer and a personalized service
Philosophy
Our 75 years of history as leaders in border trade are testament to the commitment we have and will continue to have, adapting to new consumer habits and always bringing you the latest trends and products of interest. To have succeeded in adapting over the years puts us in a stronger position to face the future.
Values
The Catalan identity
We define ourselves as a company with Catalan roots, with strong bonds with our region and culture and a keen desire to serve Catalonia and its people.
We champion Catalan as a language of daily use amongst our employees and our internal services. We are aware that being located in a border area also makes the command and use of French and Spanish in all areas of the company essential.
We have always respected the cultural and linguistic reality of our employees, who come from many different countries. We consider this plurality to be a distinguishing and enriching feature of the company.
Teamwork
We are a group of people with complementary skills committed to one common goal: customer satisfaction. Each one of the more than 600 people who work in the Grup plays a key part in fulfilling all the different services offered by Grup Tramuntana.
Close relationship and customer service
We want to understand the needs of our customers first-hand, whilst always being open to improving our services, their quality and how we engage with people.
Our Customer Service Centre has permitted us to discover, in a more direct manner, what we can do to achieve the satisfaction of all those who choose to shop in our establishments.
Social Responsibility
Our company participates and collaborates, primarily, with social, educational and cultural projects that are developed in our municipality and region.