ALE-HOP is a chain of variety stores in Europe based in Valencia, Spain, originally from Gata de Gorgos (Alicante). Vicente Grimalt, the founder and manager of the brand began selling products in 1968 from his hometown on the street, including carrycots and hats. In 1990 he founded Clave Denia S.A.U. dedicated to wholesale. After that Grimalt created the brand "ALE-HOP", opening the first store on Calle Paz in Valencia.“Quiénes somos”, ALE-HOP, accessed 12 January 2024
Geographic presence As of 2022 there were 270 stores in Spain, Portugal, Croatia and Mexico which are mostly corporate owned but with some franchises in Portugal, Italy and Croatia.
+ ALE-HOP stores (2022)CountryRegionNo. stores Valencian Community55 Andalucía46 Cataluña35 Canary Islands34 Basque Country13 Comunidad de Madrid11 Balearic Islands9 Castille and León7 Region of Murcia5 Galicia42 Aragón2 Cantabria2 Castilla-La Mancha1Total in Spain226
+ ALE-HOP stores (2022)CountryRegionNo. stores PortugalMainland37 Madeira4 Croatia Split 1 Zadar 1 Zagreb 1 Italy Bergamo 1 Cesenatico 1 Ravenna 1Total outside Spain47 Total worldwide273
Legal matters and criticism In 2022 a Valencia commercial court dismissed a claim by rival brand Mr. Wonderful alleging ALE-HOP's designs unlawfully imitated its "feel-good" style, finding the aesthetic was a general trend not exclusively protectable.
In 2018 the Spanish nursing union SATSE asked ALE-HOP to withdraw a “nurse” novelty pen on the grounds it promoted a sexist image, a request that received mainstream press coverage.
See also Flying Tiger Copenhagen MINISO
References