The 'Centros Ideal' beauty centres are closing their doors definitively and imminently. Hundreds of branches of these establishments, which offer aesthetic treatments such as body and facial laser hair removal, announced at the end of 2023 that they would cease their activity and would not reopen.
'Centros Ideal', which belongs to the Dibea Cristina Álvarez Group, had more than a hundred aesthetic centres spread throughout Spain and employed more than 600 workers, who are now affected by an ERE. This is not the only damage caused by the closure of these aesthetic centres, since the clients of 'Centros Ideal' are also affected by this sudden termination. Many of the consumers of treatments of the aesthetic chain had already paid part or all of their contracted services and now find themselves in the uncertainty of not knowing who to claim to. Governmental entities as for example the Catalan Agency of the Consumption issued a statement indicating how to proceed in this situation. On the other hand, the consumer association Facua has explained that those customers affected by the closure of the beauty clinics are entitled to a refund for treatments that have already been paid for and that they will not receive. With regard to this, the company has informed on its website that they are in the process of negotiation to redirect customers with pending treatments and hope to be able to give a response soon.
The group communicated less than a fortnight ago that they were legally obliged to close our own centres, as could be read on their own website. "We have tried to solve this situation through different ways, implementing all the measures that were within our reach, in order to continue with the dynamics of the company," they say in their statement.
This beauty chain was founded in 2015 by a couple and, in an article in El País, Cristina Álvarez and Antonio Hermida, the founders, acknowledged that the pandemic weakened and disrupted the plans and situation of 'Centros Ideal'. In 2019 they achieved a turnover of more than 50 million euros and managed to open more than 15 franchised centres. In 2021, as a result of the restrictions linked to Covid-19, turnover fell to just over 30 million euros. The latest figures for the 2022 financial year put the turnover of the chain of beauty centres at 38 million euros and with the opening of 10 of its own centres.