ZARA owner Inditex sales rise thanks to 'well received' spring/summer collections
ZARA owner Inditex has reported a 7.2% increase in sales to £15.2 billion (€18.1 billion) for the first half ending 31 July, thanks to the "design and quality" of its fashion proposition.
The owner of Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Pull&Bear said its spring/summer collections had been "very well received" by customers, boosted by the "creativity of its teams" and the "strong execution" of its fully integrated store and online business model.
During the first half, the company carried out openings in 34 markets. At the end of the period, Inditex operated 5,667 stores.
It also continued to introduce new technology in stores, providing a "significant improvement" in customer experience, facilitating interaction with its products and improving the purchasing process.
For the first half, Inditex also shared the following results:
- Gross profit up 7.5% to £8.8 billion (€10.5 billion).
- Gross margin up 19 bps to 58.3%.
- EBITDA up 8.1% to £4.2 billion (€5 billion).
- Net income up 10.1% to £2.3 billion (€2.8 billion).
Óscar García Maceiras, CEO of Inditex, said: "The design and quality of our proposition and the experience we offer our customers are, together with the efficiency and increasing sustainability of our operations, the keys to the solidity of these results.
"Our fully integrated model continues to generate opportunities for profitable growth across all concepts, regions and channels."
Inditex said its autumn/winter collections have also been "very well received" by customers, with store and online sales up 11% between 1 August and 8 September 2024 in constant currency.
Looking ahead, the company said it continues to see "strong" growth opportunities. It will attempt to "continually improve the fashion proposition, enhance the customer experience, increase its focus on sustainability and preserve the talent and commitment of its people".
Inditex is also implementing a logistics expansion plan in 2024 and 2025. This two-year investment programme focused on the expansion of the business allocates (€900 million) per year to increase logistics capacities in each of the financial years.
The business said these investments will have the highest standards of sustainability and use the most up-to-date technology.