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With the end of the 19th century and the arrival of the 20th century, Barcelona was immersed in a fever of department store openings. It would be the impact of the Universal Exposition of 1888 that made the city known to the world or perhaps it was that, at that time, it was the most industrialized city on the peninsula.
Almacenes El Barato were located between Villarroel and Tamarit streets, with a façade around the corner of Ronda de San Antonio, a few meters from the San Antonio market, built by Salvador Sindreu between 1872 and 1882.
This proximity to the market meant for the now-defunct Almacenes el Barato a projection of customers, since close to the market and the Raval neighborhood, it received visitors who, attracted by its slogans, came to it attracted by the prices, cheaper than those of the other warehouses.
It was inaugurated in 1909, when many stores opened, as it was the one that offered by far the cheapest products of the moment. This was achieved thanks to its connection with the manufacturers, from whom it bought the remains of production, which it later sold at bargain prices.
This turned out to be an ideal formula for the working class around the Raval, which lasted well after the Spanish civil war, when the hardships and narrowness of the domestic economy negatively affected their pockets.
In the 1930s a nephew of Sindreu’s, who over time became sadly famous not only in Barcelona but throughout Spain, started working in the stores as a clerk. His name was none other than Julio Muñoz Ramonet, who managed to become one of the most hated men at the time of the dictatorship due to his continued fraud.
He managed to turn against him all those who dared to have business dealings with him. Born into a humble family, during the postwar period with the black market he accumulated an important fortune, next to his brother Álvaro de él.
He was a businessman in various cotton industries, including the Unión Industrial Algodonera and Can Batlló, with which he managed to have a workforce of more than 40,000 employees.
In the 50s, he dedicated himself to acquiring department stores and important buildings, such as El Siglo and El Águila, both of which ended their days as victims of fires.
The acquisition of the Palau Robert, seized by the Central Bank, was joined by that of the Ritz Hotel, with a lawsuit with the owners who bought the business, as well as the acquisition of the International Insurance Company, for which he had to go into exile from Spain. .
Finally, the acquisition of the Palace of the Marqués de Alella (which he donated to the city with a collection of more than 500 paintings), gave rise to a dispute between the council and his daughters over the disappearance of some paintings.
With the evolution of the economy and the lack of offering its customers a proven quality in its articles, El Barato was losing market share, as people began to want to buy articles that, although they were well priced, could have the possibility of find all sizes and models.
The obligation of having to buy by price led to the fact that, in the mid-1960s, the company had to suspend payments and close the business.
In 1971, the Madrid company Almacenes Arias acquired the old building, remodeling it in which they dedicated the basement, ground floor and first floor to the commercial part, while an economic pension was opened on the upper floor.
The Madrid company Almacenes Arias reopened the business with an offer similar to the one it had received and which was similar to the one they made in the city of Madrid.
But the history of Almacenes Arias in Barcelona was also related to the burning of its commercial premises. On Thursday, March 12, 1981, they suffered a terrifying fire in which five people died, including three members of a Uruguayan family that was staying at the pension and who could not leave in time.
According to official data given by La Vanguardia on page 4, transmitting the words of the mayor, Narcís Serra, a boy of about 12 years old, in a statement at a Barcelona police station, stated that he had seen four individuals quickly enter and exit shortly before the fire.
The Arias Family, made up of six brothers, Luis Miguel, Ángel, Isidro, Alejandro, Esteban and Federico, had a direct relationship with the fires in their companies throughout their lives.
On September 4, 1984, there was a fire in the Arias department store on Calle Montera in Madrid, which caused the death of 10 firefighters. On September 11, on page 23, La Vanguardia included a statement by the mayor of Madrid, Juan Barranco, in which he acknowledged that Almacenes Arias did not have a valid building permit.
The Barcelona building, after the fire and after a reconstruction, housed some commercial galleries on the ground floor and a hotel.
